UpdateAgent Returns with New macOS Malware Dropper Written in Swift

A new variant of the macOS malware tracked as UpdateAgent has been spotted in the wild, indicating ongoing makes an attempt on the portion of its authors to upgrade its functionalities.

“Probably one particular of the most identifiable functions of the malware is that it relies on the AWS infrastructure to host its different payloads and complete its an infection position updates to the server,” researchers from Jamf Menace Labs reported in a report.

UpdateAgent, initially detected in late 2020, has considering the fact that advanced into a malware dropper, facilitating the distribution of 2nd-phase payloads such as adware though also bypassing macOS Gatekeeper protections.

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The recently identified Swift-dependent dropper masquerades as Mach-O binaries named “PDFCreator” and “ActiveDirectory” that, upon execution, create a link to a distant server and retrieve a bash script to be executed.

“The principal change [between the two executables] is that it reaches out to a distinct URL from which it must load a bash script,” the researchers mentioned.

These bash scripts, named “activedirec.sh” or “bash_qolveevgclr.sh”, consist of a URL pointing to Amazon S3 buckets to obtain and operate a next-phase disk image (DMG) file to the compromised endpoint.

“The ongoing development of this malware displays that its authors keep on to keep on being energetic, making an attempt to arrive at as numerous users as probable,” the researchers stated.

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