The recently detailed DeepData malware framework was caught exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the Fortinet VPN client for Windows to steal credentials, cybersecurity firm Volexity reports.
DeepData is a surveillance framework that relies on multiple plugins to target sensitive information stored in browsers, communication applications, and password managers, and which can record audio using the system’s microphone.
According to BlackBerry, both DeepData and the LightSpy iOS malware have been used by China-lined advanced persistent threat (APT) actor APT41 to spy on journalists, politicians, and political activists in Southeast Asia.
On Friday, Volexity revealed that DeepData was seen targeting Fortinet’s Windows VPN client to extract usernames, passwords, and other information from the process’ memory, by exploiting a zero-day vulnerability.
The bug, reported to Fortinet in July, when it was confirmed to be affecting the latest iteration of Fortinet’s VPN available at the time, does not have a CVE identifier and appears to have remained unpatched, the cybersecurity firm says.
SecurityWeek has emailed Fortinet for a statement on the matter and will update this article as soon as a reply arrives.
Volexity also notes that the DeepData framework has been developed by a China-linked state-sponsored threat actor tracked as BrazenBamboo, which has also created LightSpy and the DeepPost post-exploitation data exfiltration tool.
The cybersecurity firm has observed similarities between DeepData and LightSpy, including plugin file and function names, shared program database development paths, shared formatting for certain JSON files, similar plugin code execution flaws, and infrastructure overlaps.
“Volexity tracks BrazenBamboo as the developer of these malware families and not necessarily one of the operators using them (there may be many). Volexity has also identified a new Windows variant of LightSpy that was not previously documented at the time of writing,” Volexity says.
The cybersecurity firm also draws attention to a Windows variant of the LightSpy malware, which has been used in attacks alongside the known iOS, Android, and macOS variants, noting that the DragonEgg Android spyware that Lookout detailed last year is, in fact, LightSpy.
The Windows variant of the spyware has a different architecture than the other documented iterations, is executed by a shellcode in memory, uses WebSocket and HTTPS for communication, and consists of an orchestrator and plugins.
Most of the malware’s code is executed in memory, and the observed plugins have the same data collection and user surveillance capabilities previously associated with LightSpy.
Volexity identified roughly 30 command-and-control (C&C) servers hosting DeepData and LightSpy, along with additional infrastructure that BrazenBamboo has been using to host other tools and applications that are not directly linked to these malware families.
“Volexity’s analysis provides evidence that BrazenBamboo is a well-resourced threat actor who maintains multi-platform capabilities with operational longevity. The breadth and maturity of their capabilities indicates both a capable development function and operational requirements driving development output,” the cybersecurity firm notes.
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