Posted: 3 Min ReadThreat Intelligence

More Hidden App Malware Found on Google Play with over 2.1 Million Downloads

Malicious apps hide themselves after installation and aggressively display full-screen advertisements.

In recent times we’ve seen multiple malicious apps found in the Google Play Store by various cyber security firms, including Symantec, yet this problem doesn’t seem to be dissipating. We have uncovered another wave of malicious apps in the Play Store which have been downloaded more than 2.1 million times. We reported these apps to Google on September 2, 2019, and they were removed from the store.

A total of 25 Android Package Kits (APKs), mostly masquerading as a photo utility app and a fashion app, were published under 22 different developer accounts, with the initial sample uploaded in April 2019. These 25 malicious hidden apps share a similar code structure and app content, leading us to believe that the developers may be part of the same organizational group or, at the very least, are using the same source code base.

Figure 1. Hidden app malware on Google Play
Figure 1. Hidden app malware on Google Play

Remote configuration file

When first installed, the app’s icon is still visible on the device, enabling the user to open and interact with the app normally. However, unbeknownst to the user, a request is made in the background via a third-party service to download a remote configuration file.

Figure 2. Partial extract of malware’s code shows how configuration file is requested
Figure 2. Partial extract of malware’s code shows how configuration file is requested

We intercepted the configuration file and spotted several different configurations including one that can toggle the app’s icon-hiding behavior, as well as other advertisement-related settings. For other APKs, the icon-hiding and advertisement-displaying behavior was disabled.

Figure 3. Partial extracts of configuration files downloaded from remote server containing multiple name-value pairs, showing true (left) and false (right) for icon hiding and other advertisement related configurations
Figure 3. Partial extracts of configuration files downloaded from remote server containing multiple name-value pairs, showing true (left) and false (right) for icon hiding and other advertisement related configurations

Once the configuration file is downloaded, the malware extracts the settings and applies them. From the malware code, we can see that keywords, such as “app_hideIcon” in the case of the icon-hiding feature, are encoded and encrypted. Various encryption keys and initialization vectors (IV) were used across all 25 APKs we found on Google Play (see Figures 4 and 5), which we believe is an effort on the malware authors’ part to avoid rule-based detection by antivirus scanners.

Figure 4. Encryption key (SystemServer Palau) and IV (ViewsAfghanistan) used in com.palau.guam.fashion.hairstyles.pic.editor APK
Figure 4. Encryption key (SystemServer Palau) and IV (ViewsAfghanistan) used in com.palau.guam.fashion.hairstyles.pic.editor APK
Figure 5. Encryption key (I AM FINE) and IV (AreYouOkThankYou) used in com.amazing.photo.cutout APK
Figure 5. Encryption key (I AM FINE) and IV (AreYouOkThankYou) used in com.amazing.photo.cutout APK

When a string—let’s use the icon-hiding string app_hideIcon as an example again—is decoded and decrypted, it is checked against the key in the configuration file. Then, if it matches, the corresponding value in the configuration file is used to determine if the app icon should be hidden. The setting setComponentEnabledSetting() is called to hide the app’s icon if the value of app_hideIcon is set to true.

Figure 6. The app’s icon is hidden using setComponentEnabledSetting()
Figure 6. The app’s icon is hidden using setComponentEnabledSetting()

Once the app’s icon is hidden, the malware begins displaying advertisements, which are shown even when the app is closed. Full-screen advertisements are displayed at random intervals with no app title registered in the advertisement window, so users have no way of knowing which app is responsible for the behavior.

Monetary gain from advertising revenue is likely the motivating factor behind these apps. Thanks to the apps’ ability to conceal their presence on the home screen, users can easily forget they downloaded them. As such, the malware authors can freely and aggressively display advertisements to users, with minimal evidence leading back to them.

Figure 7. Hidden app malware displays advertisement in full screen (left). No app title can be seen when the advertisement is minimized in the App Switcher view (center), as compared to when an app title is displayed to allow app identification (right).
Figure 7. Hidden app malware displays advertisement in full screen (left). No app title can be seen when the advertisement is minimized in the App Switcher view (center), as compared to when an app title is displayed to allow app identification (right).

Out of the 22 developer accounts used to publish these apps, we spotted one developer named Burnerfock had published two identical apps named Auto Blur Photo with the same icon and title. However, only one of these apps carried out the previously described malicious behavior. The other sample was free of malicious code and was present in Google Play’s Top App Charts in the Top Trending Apps category, ranking number 7 on the list. We believe that the developer deliberately creates a malicious copy of the trending app in the hope that users will accidentally download the malicious version.

Figure 8. Two similar apps published by Burnerfock, one malicious and one clean. The clean sample (left) was ranked by Google as #7 in the Top Trending Apps category.
Figure 8. Two similar apps published by Burnerfock, one malicious and one clean. The clean sample (left) was ranked by Google as #7 in the Top Trending Apps category.

Unlike the previous hidden app malware we discovered, this batch does not have the icon-hiding function hardcoded in the APK. Instead, the switch is controlled remotely via the downloaded configuration file, allowing the malware developer to evade Google Play’s rigorous security testing.

Protection

Symantec and Norton products detect these malicious apps as:

Mitigation

Stay protected from mobile risks and malware by taking these precautions:

  • Keep your software up to date.
  • Do not download apps from unfamiliar sites.
  • Only install apps from trusted sources.
  • Pay close attention to the permissions requested by apps.
  • Install a suitable mobile security app, such as Norton or Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile, to protect your device and data.
  • Make frequent backups of important data.

Indicators of Compromise

Hashes Package Developer Download Count
cf334618c708e35294430dcd0233373df334e7b1d2c250baa719de3ca5740140 com.acaleph.octopus Kulomylong 500,000
1f083fe5d5eb53bc5fa417283b0992b426bff66a917f878e97216ba6588f2004 com.flatfish.soldiercrab.autoblur.photo Burnerfock 100,000
0441c5d74fd702a4533006e951df4f0af17b0d7571933289044637807e1dba57 com.jordan.iraq.blur.image.pro Fisher Dev 100,000
3e045e098c26889acf0cd5283a9d06e0cea97a161c31d23f3fe493d396a710df com.hammergod.picture.photo kenneth Ortiz 100,000
fbb334a8dedbc84e4ce9b48606df9e2bfde35ee38ea01bfc489ca25784c35684 com.yongdegree.face.feature Fater Dev 100,000
0dcfc4612f76755ebaf67c41dc8a64255d3df78e7e8862349ced602fe57175c9 com.palau.guam.fashion.hairstyles.pic.editor Goveroy Dev 100,000
d71fadd872120ea5787964bf66bf8b873e06ff2bd51097ded4b204418fdcbcdc com.kiribati.zowbat.image.blur.editor.free Setperal 100,000
1e93f794dbd0ceca72c14b76a448b6bad83ab9b496449ddb307e10bb3c0e0596 com.pottwal.bowhead Kensendy 100,000
6eb5e782e8eecdf85e789d679965711737b700a9f9d0e0f76314d34914908430 com.maxwell.photocutpro WWL Dev 100,000
3211609433478c95b32ba71a0e91c9c6557e1b8df4d17d000ba0f2619b93db99 com.yasuo.art Magicalla Studio 100,000
fd6fe195c193e4d4fb4d0cd616375a2a0e53eb82b72f339c7b7feb2a7926e2ef com.estonia.brunei.fashion.hairstyles.pic.editor2019 Digtal Dev 100,000
b0f4733366271483976c22a8198a4578ee1ccf8ab782d287c6255154ec36cc9c com.rwanda.seychelles.latest.hairstyles.free Lyynforture 100,000
e3422e09f19266fdc6e669b1ebad105c655a97062081cddc9243e008100a6ca0 com.positive.photo.collage Lyynforture 100,000
b04bfcdb00e27f5a3818b564150dbba04ac42eec92b15f2e9db9084f0c822851 com.gayligayqi.cut.photo.editor Superjunia 100,000
27cce7478dbe8829bfe114c1b41d57305a62efdbd12333949a6711895964a1ea com.cyprus.ghana.blur.image.plus Past Dev 100,000
f168e313f02255d5d635a9fa4634c1aa4809917684602fadb561e27de00785e7 com.jiajia.autocut.photo OOI Dev 100,000
7b49250a56dae52dc23cb88d590525761b3c0c4acc17f73911b4dc6e7e11cdc3 com.hanroom.cutbackground Richard Media Studio 50,000
a9c1e1c2e70db3df390ec88d2729208aba41af30b04a44d13b4bd4f525fb90bc com.oman.mayotte.hairstyles.photo.editorplus FFmore Dev 50,000
f2f9fa37ef6c1681a54da31a9e450dd85653a4ca61c4c16eb58f1f401172d01f com.amazing.photo.cutout Sistermopub 10,000
3ecfd97550f8928acae04b13b608b9c8b7080f7ac59b79b45c7f273cff3e7d76 loop.photo.com.photoloop Sistermagci 10,000
92239c6590adc226ca70682e349dab78b8e6448ed70fa0a30548b4d2fae3b9ea com.pop.color Pumana Dev 10,000
ba8b26106d5b2d74abeeb62ffbbdbc6b80e80bf7add86a2af57e96dfd6917586 com.sky.camera.pro.skycamerapro HCamera Studio 10,000
9135a41d998864db84cfa98734e23bb94e71d9f8614f72d3d795a718c8ea821e com.seisikou.photobackground Flydog Dev 1,000
2fb85618bfff2afda9f665177f9ef2bee208f8ba9ba87cdfee02f22ca5a19c22 com.kiribati.jordan.blur.image.plus Past Dev 5
492f386f1e8a6a8be47bb920641d7c820a2aabb34f54e1cdfa08f1aad2ffb59b com.fiji.brunei.photo.blur.background.maker2019 Goulmook Dev 1
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About the Author

May Ying Tee

Software Engineer

May Ying is a member of Symantec’s Security Technology and Response team where she is focused on researching and developing mobile security technologies.

About the Author

Martin Zhang

Princ Software Engineer

Martin is a member of Symantec’s Security Technology and Response team who are focused on providing round-the-clock protection against current and future cyber threats.

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