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The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Tuesday added a high-severity security flaw impacting TP-Link TL-WA855RE Wi-Fi Ranger Extender products to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities ( KEV ) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability, CVE-2020-24363 (CVSS score: 8.8), concerns a case of missing authentication that could be abused to obtain elevated access to the susceptible device. "This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated attacker (on the same network) to submit a TDDP_RESET POST request for a factory reset and reboot," the agency said. "The attacker can then obtain incorrect access control by setting a new administrative password." According to malwrforensics , the issue has been fixed with firmware version TL-WA855RE(EU)_V5_200731. However, it bears noting that the product has reached end-of-life (EoL) status, meaning it's unlikely to receive any patches or updates. Users of the Wi-Fi range e...

Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to a new shift in the Android malware landscape where dropper apps, which are typically used to deliver banking trojans, to also distribute simpler malware such as SMS stealers and basic spyware. These campaigns are propagated via dropper apps masquerading as government or banking apps in India and other parts of Asia, ThreatFabric said in a report last week. The Dutch mobile security firm said the change is driven by recent security protections that Google has piloted in select markets like Singapore, Thailand, Brazil, and India to block sideloading of potentially suspicious apps requesting dangerous permissions like SMS messages and accessibility services , a heavily abused setting to carry out malicious actions on Android devices.  "Google Play Protect's defences, particularly the targeted Pilot Program, are increasingly effective at stopping risky apps before they run," the company said. "Second, actors want t...

A team of academics has devised a novel attack that can be used to downgrade a 5G connection to a lower generation without relying on a rogue base station (gNB). The attack , per the ASSET (Automated Systems SEcuriTy) Research Group at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), relies on a new open-source software toolkit named Sni5Gect (short for "Sniffing 5G Inject") that's designed to sniff unencrypted messages sent between the base station and the user equipment (UE, i.e., a phone) and inject messages to the target UE over-the-air. The framework can be used to carry out attacks such as crashing the UE modem, downgrading to earlier generations of networks, fingerprinting, or authentication bypass, according to Shijie Luo, Matheus Garbelini, Sudipta Chattopadhyay, and Jianying Zhou. "As opposed to using a rogue base station, which limits the practicality of many 5G attacks, SNI5GECT acts as a third-party in the communication, silently sniffs me...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new variant of an Android banking trojan called HOOK that features ransomware-style overlay screens to display extortion messages. "A prominent characteristic of the latest variant is its capacity to deploy a full-screen ransomware overlay, which aims to coerce the victim into remitting a ransom payment," Zimperium zLabs researcher Vishnu Pratapagiri said . "This overlay presents an alarming '*WARNING*' message, alongside a wallet address and amount, both of which are dynamically retrieved from the command-and-control server." The mobile security company said the overlay is remotely initiated when the command "ransome" is issued by the C2 server. The overlay can be dismissed by the attacker by sending the "delete_ransome" command. HOOK is assessed to be an offshoot of the ERMAC banking trojan, which, coincidentally, had its source code leaked on a publicly accessible directory over the int...

Google has announced plans to begin verifying the identity of all developers who distribute apps on Android, even for those who distribute their software outside the Play Store. "Android will require all apps to be registered by verified developers in order to be installed by users on certified Android devices," the company said . "This creates crucial accountability, making it much harder for malicious actors to quickly distribute another harmful app after we take the first one down." To that end, the tech giant said it intends to start sending out invitations gradually starting October 2025, before opening it up to all developers in March 2026. The new requirements are expected to go into effect starting a year from now, in September 2026, in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. "At this point, any app installed on a certified Android device in these regions must be registered by a verified developer," Suzanne Frey, vice president of Product,...

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a new Android trojan called PhantomCard that abuses near-field communication (NFC) to conduct relay attacks for facilitating fraudulent transactions in attacks targeting banking customers in Brazil. "PhantomCard relays NFC data from a victim's banking card to the fraudster's device," ThreatFabric said in a report. "PhantomCard is based on Chinese-originating NFC relay malware-as-a-service." The Android malware, distributed via fake Google Play web pages mimicking apps for card protection, goes by the name "Proteção Cartões" (package name "com.nfupay.s145" or "com.rc888.baxi.English"). The bogus pages also feature deceptive positive reviews to persuade victims into installing the app. It's currently not known how links to these pages are distributed, but it likely involves smishing or a similar social engineering technique. Once the app is installed and opened, it requests victim...

Google said it's implementing a new policy requiring developers of cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to obtain government licenses before publishing apps in 15 jurisdictions in order to "ensure a safe and compliant ecosystem for users." The policy applies to markets like Bahrain, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. The changes do not apply to non-custodial wallets. This means developers publishing cryptocurrency exchange and wallet apps have to hold appropriate licences or be registered with relevant authorities like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), or authorized as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation before distribution. "If your targeted location is not on the list, you may continue to p...

The malicious ad tech purveyor known as VexTrio Viper has been observed developing several malicious apps that have been published on Apple and Google's official app storefronts under the guise of seemingly useful applications. These apps masquerade as VPNs, device "monitoring" apps, RAM cleaners, dating services, and spam blockers, DNS threat intelligence firm Infoblox said in an exhaustive analysis shared with The Hacker News. "They released apps under several developer names, including HolaCode, LocoMind, Hugmi, Klover Group, and AlphaScale Media," the company said . "Available in the Google Play and Apple store, these have been downloaded millions of times in aggregate." These fake apps, once installed, deceive users into signing up for subscriptions that are difficult to cancel, flood them with ads, and part with personal information like email addresses. It's worth noting that LocoMind was previously flagged by Cyjax as part of a phish...

Google has released security updates to address multiple security flaws in Android, including fixes for two Qualcomm bugs that were flagged as actively exploited in the wild. The vulnerabilities include CVE-2025-21479 (CVSS score: 8.6) and CVE-2025-27038 (CVSS score: 7.5), both of which were disclosed alongside CVE-2025-21480 (CVSS score: 8.6), by the chipmaker back in June 2025. CVE-2025-21479 relates to an incorrect authorization vulnerability in the Graphics component that could lead to memory corruption due to unauthorized command execution in GPU microcode. CVE-2025-27038, on the other hand, use-after-free vulnerability in the Graphics component that could result in memory corruption while rendering graphics using Adreno GPU drivers in Chrome. There are still no details on how these shortcomings have been weaponized in real-world attacks, but Qualcomm noted at the time that "there are indications from Google Threat Analysis Group that CVE-2025-21479, CVE-2025-21480, CV...

Cybersecurity researchers have lifted the veil on a widespread malicious campaign that's targeting TikTok Shop users globally with an aim to steal credentials and distribute trojanized apps. "Threat actors are exploiting the official in-app e-commerce platform through a dual attack strategy that combines phishing and malware to target users," CTM360 said . "The core tactic involves a deceptive replica of TikTok Shop that tricks users into thinking theyʼre interacting with a legitimate affiliate or the real platform." The scam campaign has been codenamed FraudOnTok  by the Bahrain-based cybersecurity company, calling out the threat actor's multi-pronged distribution strategy that involves Meta ads and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated TikTok videos that mimic influencers or official brand ambassadors. Central to the effort is the use of lookalike domains that resemble legitimate TikTok URLs. Over 15,000 such impersonated websites have been identified...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a nascent Android remote access trojan (RAT) called PlayPraetor that has infected more than 11,000 devices, primarily across Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco, Peru, and Hong Kong. "The botnet's rapid growth, which now exceeds 2,000 new infections per week, is driven by aggressive campaigns focusing on Spanish and French speakers, indicating a strategic shift away from its previous common victim base," Cleafy researchers Simone Mattia, Alessandro Strino, and Federico Valentini said in an analysis of the malware. PlayPraetor, managed by a Chinese command-and-control (C2) panel, doesn't significantly deviate from other Android trojans in that it abuses accessibility services to gain remote control and can serve fake overlay login screens atop nearly 200 banking apps and cryptocurrency wallets in an attempt to hijack victim accounts. PlayPraetor was first documented by CTM360 in March 2025, detailing the operation's u...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new, large-scale mobile malware campaign that's targeting Android and iOS platforms with fake dating, social networking, cloud storage, and car service apps to steal sensitive personal data. The cross-platform threat has been codenamed SarangTrap by Zimperium zLabs. Users in South Korea appear to be the primary focus. "This extensive campaign involved over 250 malicious Android applications and more than 80 malicious domains, all disguised as legitimate dating and social media applications," security researcher Rajat Goyal said . The bogus domains, which impersonate legitimate app store listing pages, are used as a lure to trick users into installing these apps, resulting in the exfiltration of contact lists and images, all while keeping up an illusion of legitimacy. Once installed, the Android apps also prompt the victim to enter an invitation code, after which it's validated against a command-and-control (C2) server. ...

Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed new Android spyware artifacts that are likely affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and have been distributed to targets by masquerading as VPN apps and Starlink, a satellite internet connection service offered by SpaceX. Mobile security vendor Lookout said it discovered four samples of a surveillanceware tool it tracks as DCHSpy one week after the onset of the Israel-Iran conflict last month. Exactly how many people may have installed these apps is not clear. "DCHSpy collects WhatsApp data, accounts, contacts, SMS, files, location, and call logs, and can record audio and take photos," security researchers Alemdar Islamoglu and Justin Albrecht said . First detected in July 2023, DCHSpy is assessed to be the handiwork of MuddyWater , an Iranian nation-state group tied to MOIS. The hacking crew is also called Boggy Serpens, Cobalt Ulster, Earth Vetala, ITG17, Mango Sandstorm (formerly Mercury), Se...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new hacking technique that exploits weaknesses in the eSIM technology used in modern smartphones, exposing users to severe risks. The issues impact the Kigen eUICC card. According to the Irish company's website, more than two billion SIMs in IoT devices have been enabled as of December 2020. The findings come from Security Explorations, a research lab of AG Security Research company. Kigen awarded the company a $30,000 bounty for their report. An eSIM, or embedded SIM, is a digital SIM card that's embedded directly into a device as software installed onto an Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) chip. eSIMs allow users to activate a cellular plan from a carrier without the need for a physical SIM card. eUICC software offers the ability to change operator profiles, remote provisioning, and management of SIM profiles. "The eUICC card makes it possible to install the so-called eSIM profiles into the target chi...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered an Android banking malware campaign that has leveraged a trojan named Anatsa to target users in North America using malicious apps published on Google's official app marketplace. The malware, disguised as a "PDF Update" to a document viewer app, has been caught serving a deceptive overlay when users attempt to access their banking application, claiming the service has been temporarily suspended as part of scheduled maintenance. "This marks at least the third instance of Anatsa focusing its operations on mobile banking customers in the United States and Canada," Dutch mobile security company ThreatFabric said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "As with previous campaigns, Anatsa is being distributed via the official Google Play Store." Anatsa, also referred to as TeaBot and Toddler, has been known to be active since at least 2020, typically delivered to victims via dropper apps. Early last year, An...

Google has been ordered by a court in the U.S. state of California to pay $314 million over charges that it misused Android device users' cellular data when they were idle to passively send information to the company. The verdict marks an end to a legal class-action complaint that was originally filed in August 2019. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that Google's Android operating system leverages users' cellular data to transmit a "variety of information to Google" without their permission, even when their devices are kept in an idle state. "Although Google could make it so that these transfers happen only when the phones are connected to Wi-Fi, Google instead designed these transfers so they can also take place over a cellular network," they said. "Google's unauthorized use of their cellular data violates California law and requires Google to compensate Plaintiffs for the value of the cellular data that Google uses for its own be...