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.

    • xkforce@lemmy.world
      143·
      3 years ago

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

    • gaael@lemmy.world
      1·
      3 years ago

      I’ve installed and used it, and still do.

      My internet connection is not that reliable, and when I download big files that are not torrents (say >1000 MB) and the download is interrupted because of internet disconnect, Firefox often has trouble getting back to it while FDM doesn’t.

      FDM also lets me set download speed limits, which means I can still browse the internet while downloading.

      It’s not my main tool for downloading stuff, but it has its uses.

  • drspod@lemmy.mlOP
    36·
    3 years ago

    The article mentions how to check for infection:

    If you have installed the Linux version of the Free Download Manager between 2020 and 2022, you should check and see if the malicious version was installed.

    To do this, look for the following files dropped by the malware, and if found, delete them:

    /etc/cron.d/collect
/var/tmp/crond
/var/tmp/bs
  • insaneduck@lemmy.worldEnglish
    171·
    3 years ago

    Finally linux is getting popular enough to make viruses. Yay?. Insert gru meme here

  • rufus@discuss.tchncs.de
    71·
    3 years 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
      5·
      3 years 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
        11·
        3 years 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. (I’ve been using some flatpaks in recent times, though. But sometimes I also install it only for a separate user account. Mainly when it’s proprietary or niche.)

        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.

  • rurb@lemmy.ml
    5·
    3 years ago

    I had to essentially read the same thing four times before there was any new information in this post. Not sure if that’s a Jerboa thing or what, but probably could have been avoided.

    • drspod@lemmy.mlOP
      7·
      3 years ago

      Yeah I agree, sorry about that. I thought that the body-text field was mandatory to fill in, so I used the introductory paragraph from the article so as not to editorialize.