Shedun is a family of malware software (also known as Kemoge, Shiftybug and Shuanet[1][2][3]) targeting the Android operating system first identified in late 2015 by mobile security company Lookout, affecting roughly 20,000[4] popular Android applications.[3][5][6][7][8] Lookout claimed the HummingBad malware was also a part of the Shedun family, however, these claims were refuted.[9][10]

Avira Protection Labs stated that Shedun family malware is detected to cause approximately 1500-2000 infections per day.[11] All three variants of the virus are known to share roughly ~80% of the same source code.[12][13]

In mid 2016, arstechnica reported that approximately 10.000.000 devices would be infected by this malware[14] and that new infections would still be surging.[15][16]

The malware's primary attack vector is repackaging legitimate Android applications (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Candy Crush, Google Now, Snapchat[17])[4][18][19] with adware included. The app which remains functional is then released to a third party app store;[20] once downloaded, the application generates revenue by serving ads (estimated to amount to $2 US per installation[19]), most users cannot get rid of the virus without getting a new device, as the only other way to get rid of the malware is to root affected devices and re-flash a custom ROM.[21][22]

In addition, Shedun-type malware has been detected pre-installed on 26 different types[23] of Chinese Android-based hardware such as Smartphones and Tablet computers.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]

Shedun-family malware is known for auto-rooting the Android OS[18][37] using well-known exploits like ExynosAbuse, Memexploit and Framaroot[38] (causing a potential privilege escalation[19][39][40])[41] and for serving trojanized adware and installing themselves within the system partition of the operating system, so that not even a factory reset can remove the malware from infected devices.[42][43]

Shedun malware is known for targeting the Android Accessibility Service,[2][42][44][45][46][47][48] as well as for downloading and installing arbitrary applications[49] (usually adware) without permission.[3] It is classified as "aggressive adware" for installing potentially unwanted program[50][51][52] applications and serving ads.[53]

As of April 2016, Shedun malware is considered by most security researchers to be next to impossible to entirely remove.[54][55][56][57][58][59]

Avira Security researcher Pavel Ponomariov, who specializes in Android malware detection tools, mobile threat detection, and mobile malware detection automation research,[60] has published an in-depth analysis of this malware.[11]

The countries most infected by this virus were in Asia including China, India, Philippines, Indonesia and Turkey.[61]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ by @HackTheW0r1d (5 November 2015). "Shuanet, ShiftyBug and Shedun malware could auto-root your Android – HackBails". Hackbails.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b "Android Adware Abuses Accessibility Service to Install Apps". SecurityWeek.com. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Manish Singh (23 November 2015). "New Android Adware Can Download, Install Apps Without Permission: Report". NDTV Gadgets360.com.
  4. ^ a b "Three new malware strains infect 20k apps, impossible to wipe, only affect Android". AppleInsider Forums. 5 November 2015.
  5. ^ Eran, Daniel (5 November 2015). "Three new malware strains infect 20k apps, impossible to wipe, only affect Android". Appleinsider.com. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Android Malware On The Loose: Shuanet, ShiftyBug And Shedun Signatures Found On 20,000 Apps Outside Google Play Store". Droid Report.
  7. ^ "Shedun Trojan goes solo". Darkmatters. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Popular Mobile Apps Repackaged with Trojans". Lavasoft. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Another month, another new rooting malware family for Android". blog.elevenpaths.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  10. ^ "DIY Attribution, Classification, and In-depth Analysis of Mobile Malware". Check Point Blog. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Shedun: adware/malware family threatening your Android device". Avira Blog. 3 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Neue Welle von Android-Malware lässt sich kaum mehr entfernen". Elektronikpraxis.vogel.de. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  13. ^ PMK Presse, Messe & Kongresse Verlags GmbH. "Gemeinsamkeiten: Shuanet, Shedun & ShiftyBug". Itseccity.de. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  14. ^ Dan Goodin - Jul 7, 2016 5:50 pm UTC (7 July 2016). "10 million Android phones infected by all-powerful auto-rooting apps". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Android Trojanized Adware 'Shedun' Infections Surge". Bankinfosecurity.com. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Android Trojanized Adware 'Shedun' Infections Surge". www.linkedin.com.
  17. ^ "Android-Malware: Adware war gestern. Android-Trojaner auf dem Vormarsch". botfrei Blog. 9 November 2015.
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  20. ^ "Adware Shedun nistet sich gegen den Willen der Nutzer in Android ein". ITespresso.de. 23 November 2015.
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  22. ^ "Android-Malware: Neue Schadsoftware rootet Geräte und ist kaum zu entfernen - Golem.de".
  23. ^ Swati Khandelwal (3 September 2015). "26 Android Phone Models Shipped with Pre-Installed Spyware". The Hacker News.
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  25. ^ Catalin Cimpanu (4 September 2015). "24 Chinese Android Smartphone Models Come with Pre-Installed Malware". softpedia.
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  46. ^ Shedun gaining accessibility service privileges. 18 November 2015 – via YouTube.
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