A reported Free Download Manager supply chain attack redirected Linux users to a malicious Debian package repository that installed information-stealing malware.

A reported Free Download Manager supply chain attack redirected Linux users to a malicious Debian package repository that installed information-stealing malware.

The malware used in this campaign establishes a reverse shell to a C2 server and installs a Bash stealer that collects user data and account credentials.

Kaspersky discovered the potential supply chain compromise case while investigating suspicious domains, finding that the campaign has been underway for over three years.

    • 30p87@feddit.de
      3·
      1 year ago

      And via a website too. That’s like pushing a car. One of the main strengths of Linux are open repositories, maintained by reputable sources and checked by thousands of reputable people. Packages are checksummed and therefore unable to be switched by malicious parties. Even the AUR is arguably a safer and more regulated source. And it’s actually in there.

      • JWBananas@startrek.websiteEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        And via a website too

        Everyone knows real admins do curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/something/or/other/install.sh | sudo bash

    • xkforce@lemmy.world
      0·
      1 year ago

      The same people that would have given that poor nigerian prince their bank account details

    • TrustingZebra@lemmy.one
      0·
      1 year ago

      It’s still my favorite download manager on Windows. It often downloads file significantly faster than the download manager built into browsers. Luckily I never installed it on Linux, since I have a habit of only installing from package managers.

      Do you know of a good download manager for Linux?

      • FredericChopin_@feddit.ukEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        How much faster are we talking?

        I’ve honestly never looked at my downloads and though huh you should be quicker, well maybe in 90’s.

        • arglebargle@lemm.eeEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          just grabbed a gig file - it would take about 8 minutes with a standard download in Firefox. Use a manager or axel and it will be 30 seconds. Then again speed isnt everything, its also nice to be able to have auto retry and completion.

        • TrustingZebra@lemmy.one
          0·
          1 year ago

          FDM does some clever things to boost download speeds. It splits up a download into different chuncks, and somehow downloads them concurrently. It makes a big difference for large files (for example, Linux ISOs).

          • FredericChopin_@feddit.ukEnglish
            0·
            1 year ago

            Im curious as to how it would achieve that?

            It can’t split a file before it has the file. And all downloads are split up. They’re called packets.

            Not saying it doesn’t do it, just wondering how.

            • everett@lemmy.ml
              0·
              1 year ago

              It could make multiple requests to the server, asking each request to resume starting at a certain byte.

  • gabriele97@lemmy.g97.top
    0·
    1 year ago

    How is it possible that users noticed strange behaviors (new Cron jobs) and they didn’t check the script launched by those jobs 😱

    • jsdz@lemmy.ml
      1·
      1 year ago

      Linux popularity going up means the percentage of users who know what cron is goes down.

  • rufus@discuss.tchncs.de
    01·
    1 year ago

    Mmmh. You kinda deserve being infected if you do things like this. Every beginner tutorial specifically tells you not to download random stuff from the internet and ‘sudo’ install it. Every Wiki with helpful information has these boxes that tell you not to do it. I’m okay if you do it anyways. But don’t blame anyone else for the consequences. And don’t tell me you haven’t been warned.

    Also I wonder about the impact this had. It went unnoticed for 3 years. So I can’t imagine it having affected many people. The text says it affected few people. And it didn’t have any real impact.

    But supply chain attacks are real. Don’t get fooled. And don’t install random stuff. Install the download manager from your package repository instead.

    • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
      1·
      1 year ago

      I kind of disagree. Applications often require root permissions to install themselves, since regular users can’t access certain folders like /opt, etc.

      Also, do you really think that people would actually read the source and then compile all their software themselves? Do you do the same?

      Generally though I do agree, you’re probably fine installing software from your distro’s repos but even that’s not bulletproof and also it’s not like third-party repos are uncommon either.

      • rufus@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        1 year ago

        Yes. I do it the correct way. I use my favourite distro’s package manager to install software. This way it’s tested, a few people had a look at the changes, and sometimes a CI script automatically determines if the installer affects other parts of the system. I go to great lengths to avoid doing it any other way.

        It is super rare that I install random stuff from the internet. Or ‘curl’ and then pipe the installer script into a root shell. And when I do, I put in some effort to see if it’s okay. I think i had a quick glance at most of the install .sh scripts before continuing. So yes, I kinda do my best. And I isolate that stuff and don’t put it on the same container that does my email.

        Most of the times you can avoid doing it the ‘stupid way’. And even the programming package managers like ‘npm’, ‘cargo’, … have started to take supply chain attacks seriously.