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Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 reported a new Gremlin Stealer variant that significantly increases stealth and anti-analysis protections while expanding data theft capabilities. The malware hides XOR-encoded payloads in the .NET resource section and, in at least one sample, uses a commercial packer with instruction virtualization to complicate reverse engineering. Researchers said recent builds also rely on staged loading, string encryption, identifier renaming, and control-flow obfuscation, while associated infrastructure had zero detections on VirusTotal when discovered.
The updated stealer targets browser cookies, session tokens, clipboard contents, cryptocurrency wallet data, and FTP/VPN credentials, then compresses stolen information into a ZIP archive named after the victim’s public IP address before uploading it to an attacker-controlled server at hxxp[:]194.87.92[.]109/i.php. Unit 42 said the latest variant also adds Discord token theft, clipboard-based cryptocurrency address replacement, and WebSocket-based browser session hijacking designed to bypass modern cookie protections, indicating a shift toward more covert credential theft and account takeover operations.
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The analysis identified attacker-controlled infrastructure at 194.87.92.109/i.php used to receive ZIP archives of stolen data named after victims’ public IP addresses. Unit 42 reported that this newly identified infrastructure had zero detections on VirusTotal at the time of discovery.
Unit 42 analyzed a new Gremlin Stealer variant that uses stronger obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques, including XOR-encoded payloads stored in the .NET resource section and, in one sample, a commercial packer with instruction virtualization. The variant also adds Discord token theft, clipboard-based cryptocurrency address replacement, and WebSocket-based browser session hijacking.
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Researchers analyzing multiple **Vidar Stealer** samples found the malware relies heavily on encrypted or XOR-obfuscated strings and dynamic API resolution to conceal its behavior. Reverse engineering with **Ghidra** and **x32dbg** exposed decrypted strings tied to `LoadLibraryA`, `GetProcAddress`, `VirtualAlloc`, anti-analysis checks, and broad data-theft functions. The recovered functionality shows Vidar harvesting browser passwords, cookies, autofill data, credit cards, Firefox/NSS secrets, FileZilla and WinSCP data, Steam files, Discord and Telegram artifacts, screenshots, host metadata, and numerous desktop and browser-extension cryptocurrency wallets. A separate campaign analysis showed Vidar configured to treat some stolen data differently when credentials were associated with hostnames linked to government, military, police, intelligence, CERT, and NATO-related organizations in Poland and the Baltic region. In that sample, the malware decrypted a hardcoded hostname list, checked stolen credentials for matches, and redirected matching data to an alternate command-and-control path, while command-and-control addresses were retrieved from Mastodon profiles including **@oleg98** and **@artemida**. The reporting also linked the broader activity to infrastructure or samples associated with **Raccoon**, **RedLine Stealer**, **SmokeLoader**, and **STOP ransomware**, indicating a wider criminal ecosystem around the campaign.
Aug 15, 2026
Researchers documented several **multi-stage malware campaigns** that used phishing lures, fake software updates, and DLL sideloading to deploy credential theft and remote access payloads. In one June 2026 intrusion targeting a small number of German financial institutions, a spear-phishing email posing as an urgent VPN update delivered a 7-Zip self-extracting archive that dropped a signed copy of **Radmin VPN** alongside a trojanized `Qt5Core.dll`, launching **HijackLoader** and ultimately **Vidar v2.1** through process hollowing into a signed `dBpoweramp` binary. A parallel chain used Opera sideloading to install **SnappyClient RAT**. Separate reporting also described a targeted Spanish-language phishing lure that delivered a password-protected archive containing a .NET loader and a byte-reversed DLL payload, as well as a fake browser update chain that used a signed **G DATA AntiVirus** binary to sideload **PlugX** linked to suspected **Mustang Panda** activity. Across the cases, the malware families showed strong emphasis on **credential theft, stealth, and layered execution**. Vidar samples were observed harvesting browser passwords, cookies, screenshots, FileZilla and WinSCP data, and cryptocurrency wallet information, while also bypassing Chromium App-Bound Encryption by launching legitimate Chrome and Edge instances with specific flags and using dead-drop resolvers such as **Steam** and **Telegram** to locate command-and-control servers. The PlugX implant used multiple decoding and encryption layers, manual PE mapping, registry-based persistence, and WinHTTP communications to `fruitbrat[.]com:443`, while another credential-stealing sample tied in open sources to **RedFoxtrot** targeted Firefox and Internet Explorer data and used proxy-aware HTTP communications with hardcoded infrastructure. The reporting highlights continued attacker reliance on signed binaries, staged loaders, and obfuscated payload handling to evade detection while stealing credentials and enabling follow-on access.
Jul 12, 2026
Researchers reported that updated **Vidar** infostealer campaigns are using steganography, fileless execution, and social-engineering lures to evade detection and steal corporate and consumer data. Point Wild and Intrinsec found infections delivered through fake GitHub repositories, compromised WordPress sites showing **ClickFix**-style fake CAPTCHA prompts, gaming cheat posts on Reddit and Discord, and bogus software promoted in YouTube videos and hosted on services such as Mediafire. In one chain, a fake tool named **NeoHub** dropped a malicious DLL disguised as a Microsoft Edge component and signed with counterfeit certificates impersonating GitHub and grow.com. The malware uses VBScript, obfuscated PowerShell, a Go-based loader, and trusted Windows binaries including `WScript`, `PowerShell`, and `RegAsm.exe` to fetch apparently harmless JPEG and TXT files that contain hidden Base64-encoded second-stage payloads, then reconstructs and executes them entirely in memory through .NET reflective loading. Researchers said Vidar now operates as a **Malware-as-a-Service** offering, uses Telegram and Dead Drop Resolver techniques via public Steam profiles to locate command-and-control infrastructure, and exfiltrates credentials, cookies, payment data, cryptocurrency wallet files, and information from more than 200 browser extensions, often through Telegram and Cloudflare-fronted domains to mask attacker activity.
Jun 29, 2026