This looks like a fairly complex infection mechanism combining exploiting websites, injecting JavaScript code then attempted exploitation of host machines and failing that prompting a download for some fake malware.

The way they have it all setup is pretty clever too hiding behind common technologies so their infections don’t look out of place.

An obfuscated JavaScript meant to look like Google Analytics code? That’s smart.

A nasty infection that attempts to install a potent malware cocktail on the machines of end users has spread to about 30,000 websites run by businesses, government agencies and other organizations, researchers warned Friday.

The infection sneaks malicious javascript onto the front page of websites, most likely by exploiting a common application that leads to a SQL injection, said Stephan Chenette, manager for security research at security firm Websense. The injected code is designed to look like a Google Analytics script, and it uses obfuscated javascript, so it is hard to spot.

The malicious payload silently redirects visitors of infected sites to servers that analyze the end-user PC. Based on the results, it attempts to exploit one or more of about 10 different unpatched vulnerabilities on the visitor’s machine. If none exist, the webserver delivers a popup window that claims the PC is infected in an attempt to trick the person into installing rogue anti-virus software.

If you imagine 30,000 websites have been installed, how much traffic do these sites have in total? And out of that how many client computers have been infected.

The numbers could be quite huge.

The rogue anti-virus seems fairly intelligently designed too with polymorphic techniques to avoid signature scanning by real AV engines.

The rogue anti-virus software uses polymorphic techniques to constantly alter its digital signature, allowing it to evade detection by the vast majority of legitimate anti-virus programs. Because it uses obfuscation, the javascript is also hard to detect by antivirus programs and impossible to spot using Google searches that scour the web for a common string or variable.

“For the common user, it’s going to be possible but difficult to determine what the code is doing or if it’s indeed malicious,” Chenette told The Register. “We can see this quickly growing.”

The infection shares many similarities with a mass website malady that’s been dubbed Gumblar. It too injects obfuscated javascript into legitimate websites in an attempt to attack visitors. So far, it’s spread to about 60,000 sites, Websense estimates.

Several differences in the way the javascript behaves, however, have led Websense researchers to believe the two attacks are unrelated. The researchers have also noticed that the code, once it’s deobfuscated, points to web addresses that are misspellings of legitimate Google Analytics domains that many sites use to track visitor statistics. The RBN, or Russian Business Network, has used similar tactics in the past, and Websense is now working to determine whether those responsible for this latest attack have ties to that criminal outfit.

Seems like it could possibly be from Russia (the RBN) and it’s not related to Gumblar, even though they have quite a few similarities.

Interesting case to watch, and make sure any sites you run are up to date, secured and not open to SQL injection!

Source: The Register

I thought this would have been stamped out by now, but sadly it’s still going on. With the advent of cheap web hosting and easy to use CMS systems like WordPress more and more people are managing their own websites (gone are the days of Geocities).

More people with websites means more FTP details to be stolen, and more websites to be spammed up by malware propagators.

With that sentiment, Gumblar is gaining more traction poisoning Google search results.

A Web attack that poisons Google search results is getting worse, according to security researchers.

The attack first relies on compromising normally legitimate website and planting malicious scripts. US CERT reports that stolen FTP credentials are reckoned to be the main technique in play during this stage of the attack but poor configuration settings and vulnerable web applications might also play a part.

Surfers who visit compromised websites are exposed to attacks that rely on well-known PDF and Flash Player vulnerabilities to plant malware onto Windows PCs.

This malware is designed to redirect Google search results as well as to swipe sensitive information from compromised machines, according to early findings from ongoing analysis.

Unsurprisingly the infection vectors are still the same, the recent PDF and Flash exploits. You can bank on the majority of people not installing the updates and still being vulnerable.

As always make sure any networks you manage are updated and the people you know have the latest versions of the software they use to read PDFs and Flash Player.

The SANS Institute’s Internet Storm Centre (ISC) adds that the attack has been around for some time but has intensified over recent days. Initially the malware was served up onto vulnerable Windows clients from the website gumblar.cn, which has been offline since Friday. A second domain – martuz.cn – has taken over this key role in the attack, ISC reports.

Web security scanning firm ScanSafe, which was among the first to warn of the rise of the attack, notes that the reference to martuz.cn in more recent attacks has been obfuscated, possibly in an attempt to thwart rudimentary blacklists. “The URI resulting from the injected script might appear as mar”+”tuz.cn instead of just martuz.cn,” writes ScanSafe researcher Mary Landesman.

ScanSafe reported on Monday that Gumblar more than trebled (up 246 per cent) over the preceding week. It describes Gumblar as a botnet of compromised websites in a series of blog postings on the attack, which can be found here. Sophos reckons the Gumblar-related malware appeared in 42 per cent of all the newly infected websites it detected last week.

From the domains being used it seems probably that this attack originated from China, perhaps they are starting to cash in on the malware distribution/spam/info trading scene online.

If they can from behind “The Great Firewall of China“.

It seems like the Gumblar activity has intensified significantly in recent weeks though so do watch out for it. Make sure anyone who has FTP access to any websites you run has a secure system.

Source: The Register