Analysis by: Sabrina Lei Sioting
ALIASES:

MacOS:Appetite-A [Trj] (Avast), OSX/BackDoor.A (AVG), MAC.OSX.Backdoor.Careto.A (Bitdefender), OSX/Appetite.A (Eset), MAC.OSX.Backdoor.Careto.A (FSecure), Backdoor.MacOSX.Mask (Ikarus), Trojan.OSX.Melgato.a (Kaspersky), OSX/Backdoor-BRE (McAfee), Backdoor:MacOS_X/Appetite.A (Microsoft), OSX/Appetite-A (Sophos),

 PLATFORM:

Mac OS X

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 DAMAGE POTENTIAL:
 DISTRIBUTION POTENTIAL:
 REPORTED INFECTION:
 INFORMATION EXPOSURE:

  • Threat Type: Backdoor

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel: Dropped by other malware

This OSX malware was used in the targeted attack campaign named Careto. The attack was noted for encoding its configuration data and encrypting its network traffic.

To get a one-glance comprehensive view of the behavior of this Backdoor, refer to the Threat Diagram shown below.

This Backdoor may be dropped by other malware.

It executes commands from a remote malicious user, effectively compromising the affected system.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 89,828 bytes
File Type: Mach-O
Memory Resident: Yes
Initial Samples Received Date: 12 Feb 2014
Payload: Compromises system security

Arrival Details

This Backdoor may be dropped by other malware.

Backdoor Routine

This Backdoor executes the following commands from a remote malicious user:

  • Execute a program
  • Remote shell command

It connects to the following URL(s) to send and receive commands from a remote malicious user:

  • itunes212.{BLOCKED}pdt.com

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.700
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE: 10.602.01
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE: 12 Feb 2014
VSAPI OPR PATTERN File: 10.603.00
VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date: 12 Feb 2014

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as OSX_CARETO.A. If the detected files have already been cleaned, deleted, or quarantined by your Trend Micro product, no further step is required. You may opt to simply delete the quarantined files. Please check the following Trend Micro Support pages for more information:


Did this description help? Tell us how we did.

Related Blog Entries