ESET has found two previously unknown Windows versions of SprySOCKS, a backdoor until now seen only on Linux, attributed to the China-aligned espionage group FishMonger (also called Earth Lusca and linked to the i-Soon contractor). One variant loads two encrypted kernel drivers that hide the malware's processes, files, registry keys, and network connections, and divert command traffic through a random TCP port so the real listening port never shows. It keeps the Linux version's 30-plus commands and hardcoded command-and-control setup. ESET tied the activity to attacks in 2023 and 2024, mostly against government bodies in Honduras, Taiwan, Thailand, and Pakistan, with the group historically gaining entry through unpatched public-facing servers.
Attackers hijacked more than 400 packages in the Arch User Repository (AUR), the community add-on store for Arch Linux, in a supply-chain attack dubbed Atomic Arch. Rather than exploiting a flaw, they adopted abandoned packages and quietly edited the build recipe (PKGBUILD) to pull in a malicious npm package, atomic-lockfile, at install time. The payload is a Rust credential stealer that grabs browser logins, SSH keys, crypto wallets, and developer tokens; when run as root it also loads an eBPF rootkit that hides its processes, files, and network connections. Only the AUR is affected, not Arch's official repositories. The package names and histories looked completely normal.
Trend Micro disclosed Quasar Linux (QLNX), a previously undocumented Linux remote access trojan designed for developer workstations and DevOps environments. The malware harvests credentials for npm, PyPI, GitHub, AWS, Docker, and Kubernetes - then uses them to publish trojanized packages to public registries. QLNX runs entirely fileless and in-memory, dynamically compiling its rootkit and PAM backdoor on the target host using gcc, then loading them via /etc/ld.so.preload for system-wide interception. Capabilities include a 58-command RAT, dual-layer rootkit, keylogging, SSH lateral movement, and peer-to-peer mesh networking. Only four security tools detect the binary as malicious.
McAfee uncovered a rootkit campaign called Operation NoVoice that distributed malware through more than 50 legitimate-looking apps on Google Play - cleaners, games, and gallery tools - downloaded at least 2.3 million times. Once opened, the apps silently profile the device and download root exploits targeting Android vulnerabilities patched between 2016 and 2021. After rooting, the malware replaces core system libraries so every app the user opens runs attacker code. It survives factory resets on older devices because the payload lives on the system partition.
TrustStrike Labs