Koobface worm is capable of infecting Linux, too!

alan_ri · 10-28-2010, 01:32 PM

Yeah, Linux is popular, every day more and more and it wasn't really a surprise to see something like this happen. Same worm can infect Winblow$ and Mac OS X, but of course Linux is a different story.

Read the rest here; http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-K...o-163450.shtml

unixfool · 10-28-2010, 02:09 PM

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/27/...evel-disputed/ is one reference for OS X.

Really, though...if it takes social engineering to kick-start the compromise, I don't consider that an actual worm. Worms self propagate. This one doesn't self-propagate, from what I understand. It's actually a trojan. Although it'll hijack user accounts and attempt to spread itself further via spam messages, it will still take a duped human to actually make the attempts successful.

Interesting stuff, though.

smoker · 10-28-2010, 03:32 PM

Quote:

The attack was spotted on social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, the usual hunting grounds of the Koobface gang.

Never go there, so not affected.

Quote:

It begins with users receiving a messages from their friends, who direct them to an online video. Lures like "Is it you in this video?" have been observed.

Aah, really ...

Quote:

The included link leads to a fake YouTube page, which displays a video thumbnail. Clicking it launches a Java applet, that users are asked to accept.

So not a worm then,

Quote:

The applet exploits a remote code execution vulnerability in outdated versions of Java and checks the visitor's operating system.

Outdated java dependency - not reliable then.

Quote:

Based on this determination, the appropriate version of the Koobface worm is installed without requiring any interaction from the victim.

I think there has been quite enough user interaction already, hardly a worm attack.

Quote:

Once installed on a computer, the worm hijacks the social networking accounts of its owner and uses them to propagate.

Oh dear, never mind.
Darwin awards ?

syg00 · 10-28-2010, 06:28 PM

Why would anyone be surprised that a java attack would succeed against various (any ?) environment. Isn't that the java motto - "write once, fail everywhere" ?.
+1 for the Darwin nomination.