Xenomorph Android Banking Malware

Xenomorph has been discovered with a new malware campaign targeting several United States and Spain institutions. This new campaign shows thousands of downloads of Xenomorph malware by victims.

Xenomorph is an Android malware that was discovered in February 2022 by Threat Fabric. According to previous malware campaigns, this Android malware was distributed using phishing webpages, tricking victims into installing malicious APKs. 

However, a new list of victims belonging to several institutions in the US, Portugal, and multiple crypto wallets have been identified, showing consistency in the banking malware family.

Xenomorph Android Malware

Xenomorph malware is capable of performing a simple SMS manipulation and can go up to full device control, which is due to the use of a very powerful Automated Transfer System (ATS) framework that Remote access capabilities had obtained. The malware has been constantly being added with new features by its developers for additional functionalities.

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Xenomorph uses “overlay” as its primary method for obtaining Personally Identifiable Information (PII), including usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and much more. The modules that are available in Xenomorph, including the new functionalities, are listed below

MODULE NAMEDESCRIPTION
notificationAccessGrant notification access
grantPermissionsAutomatically grants itself all permissions required
dozeModeDisableTypeADisable Doze mode (Xiaomi MIUI) – version 1
dozeModeDisableTypeBDisable Doze mode (Xiaomi MIUI) – version 2
dozeModeDisableTypeCDisable Doze mode (Xiaomi MIUI) – version 3
dozeModeDisableTypeDDisable Doze mode (Xiaomi MIUI) – version 4
disablePlayProtectDisable Play Protect
xiaomiAdminAccessGet Admin Access Xiaomi
restrictUninstall_SamsungApi29Stop uninstall procedure in Samsung using API 29 (Android 10)
dismissSettingsAlerts_GenericDismiss Settings Alerts
restrictReset_GenericStop device reset
restrictReset_ByContentVid_SamsungApi30Stop device reset in Samsung using API 30 (Android 11)
restrictUninstall_ByClassNameStop uninstall procedure based on Class name
restrictUninstall_GenericStop uninstall procedure
restrictAccessibilityDisable_GenericStop disabling of Accessibility Services privileges
restrictAdminRetrieve_XiaomiApi30Restrict retrieving Admin in Xiaomi using API 30 (Android 11)
restrictSettingsClicks_GenericRestrict clicks in settings
defaultSmsApp-AlertInterface with Default SMS settings Alert
defaultSmsApp-Role-ChangePreventionPrevent removal of Default SMS Role
defaultSmsApp-RoleObtain Default SMS role
defaultSmsApp-SettingsSet as Default SMS Handler
grantSystemWritePermissionsGrants system write permissions
getGoogle2FAGets Google Authenticator 2FA codes
grantWriteStoragePermissionsGrants write storage permissions (new functionality)
Modules and functionalities (Source: Threat Fabric)

Further investigations on this new malware revealed that threat actors have inserted several modules that are supported by Samsung and Xiaomi devices, as these two contribute to 50% of the whole Android market share.

New Capabilities

A few additional commands have been added from the previous versions of Xenomorph. The new commands were start_mimic (Start Mimic Function), stop_mimic (Stop Mimic Function), show_push (Enable antisleep push notification), and click on point (simulate touch on specific coordinates). This mimic function enables the malware to act as any other application and remove a malware-specific behavior that was not available in the previous version. 

Furthermore, this malware was also found to be merged with RisePro stealer with Private Loader traces, which are some common Desktop-stealer malware. Additionally, the new version of Xenomorph also uses LummaC2, which was another well-known stealer. 

Moreover, the communication with the C2 has been updated, replacing HTTP with raw TCP sockets over port 50500 for receiving commands and data exfiltration.

A complete report has been published by Threat Fabric, which provided detailed information about the malware, distribution, code analysis, C2 communication, their old targets, new functionalities, and other information.

Indicators of Compromise

Xenomorph Samples

HASH (SHA256)APP NAMEPACKAGE NAME
e2646afca109162f66b117ca8a7feed0272ab6d8822132dafd2d54d7553cbfdeChromecom.peace.frequent
259e88f593a3df5cf14924eec084d904877953c4a78ed4a2bc9660a2eaabb20bChromecom.mtnyrvojt.qtbxtwjnq
257f041d1b6ed82808cd8ef07ec84cf141c38e5374b654de46879a3bc180c79cChromecom.uhtvqsutg.igogiciut

Xenomorph C2 servers

SERVER URL/IPROLE
airlinesimulator[.]ioOverlay Server
fobocontentplus[.]onlineC2 Server
fobocontentplus[.]topC2 Server
fobocontentplus[.]siteC2 Server
92l[.]infoPhishing Server

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Eswar is a Cyber security reporter with a passion for creating captivating and informative content. With years of experience under his belt in Cyber Security, he is reporting data breach, Privacy and APT Threats.