Security researchers have identified a new campaign involving the Xenomorph malware, which is now targeting Android users in the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium.
Furthermore, this updated version of Xenomorph is specifically focused on users of cryptocurrency wallets and various U.S. financial institutions. Xenomorph initially emerged as a banking trojan in early 2022, primarily targeting European banks through screen overlay phishing. Since then, it has evolved and gained notoriety as a major threat in the cybersecurity landscape.
In this latest campaign, the malware operators have opted to use phishing pages that trick visitors into downloading a malicious APK by posing as a Chrome browser update. Xenomorph continues to employ overlays to steal information but has expanded its targets to include financial institutions in the United States and multiple cryptocurrency apps. Each Xenomorph sample is equipped with approximately a hundred overlays, each crafted to target specific banks and crypto apps, tailoring the attack based on the victim’s demographic.
Despite similarities to previous variants, the new Xenomorph samples come with additional features, indicating ongoing refinement by its authors. These include a “mimic” feature that allows the malware to impersonate other applications, an “antisleep” system to prevent the device from screen shutdown, and “ClickOnPoint” for simulating taps at specific screen coordinates.
Security analysts also discovered that Xenomorph was distributed alongside other malware variants, such as Medusa and Cabassous for Android, as well as Windows information stealers like RisePro and LummaC2. This suggests potential collaboration between threat actors or the possibility of Xenomorph being sold as Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS). Users are urged to exercise caution when prompted to update their mobile browsers, as these prompts may be part of malware distribution campaigns.
