APT Hackers Turn to Malicious Excel Add-ins as Initial Intrusion Vector

Microsoft's decision to block Visual Basic for Applications VBA macros by default for Office files downloaded from the internet has led many threat actors to improvise their attack chains in recent months. Now according to Cisco Talos, advanced persistent threat APT actors and commodity malware...

Threat Spotlight: XLLing in Excel - threat actors using malicious add-ins

Microsoft is phasing out support for executing VBA macros in downloaded Office documents. Cisco Talos investigates another vector for introduction of malicious code to Microsoft Excel--malicious add-ins, specifically XLL files. Although XLL files were supported since early versions of Excel,...

Amadey Bot Spotted Deploying LockBit 3.0 Ransomware on Hacked Machines

The Amadey malware is being used to deploy LockBit 3.0 ransomware on compromised systems, researchers have warned. "Amadey bot, the malware that is used to install LockBit, is being distributed through two methods: one using a malicious Word document file, and the other using an executable that...

APT10: Tracking down LODEINFO 2022, part I

Kaspersky has been tracking activities involving the LODEINFO malware family since 2019, looking for new modifications and thoroughly investigating any attacks utilizing those new variants. LODEINFO is sophisticated fileless malware first named in a blogpost from JPCERT/CC in February 2020. The...

Experts Warn of Stealthy PowerShell Backdoor Disguising as Windows Update

Details have emerged about a previously undocumented and fully undetectable FUD PowerShell backdoor that gains its stealth by disguising itself as part of a Windows update process. "The covert self-developed tool and the associated C2 commands seem to be the work of a sophisticated, unknown threa...

October 4, 2022, update for Office 2013 (KB5002274)

October 4, 2022, update for Office 2013 KB5002274 This article describes update 5002274 for Microsoft Office 2013 that was released on October 4, 2022. This update also applies to Office Home and Student 2013 RT.Be aware that the update in the Microsoft Download Center applies to the Microsoft...

September 6, 2022, update for Office 2013 (KB5002252)

September 6, 2022, update for Office 2013 KB5002252 This article describes update 5002252 for Microsoft Office 2013 that was released on September 6, 2022. This update also applies to Office Home and Student 2013 RT.Be aware that the update in the Microsoft Download Center applies to the Microsof...

September 6, 2022, update for Office 2016 (KB5002251)

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James Webb telescope images used to hide malware

A rather unique approach to spread malware using the popularity of the James Webb telescope images has been identified by the Securonix threat research team. The malware is being spread by a phishing campaign that includes a Microsoft Office attachment. Similar to traditional Office macros, the...

OffensiveVBA - Code Execution And AV Evasion Methods For Macros In Office Documents

In preparation for a VBS AV Evasion Stream/Video I was doing some research for Office Macro code execution methods and evasion techniques. The list got longer and longer and I found no central place for offensive VBA templates - so this repo can be used for such. It is very far away from being...

August 2, 2022, update for Office 2013 (KB5002250)

August 2, 2022, update for Office 2013 KB5002250 This article describes update 5002250 for Microsoft Office 2013 that was released on August 2, 2022. This update also applies to Office Home and Student 2013 RT.Be aware that the update in the Microsoft Download Center applies to the Microsoft...

August 2, 2022, update for Office 2016 (KB5002248)

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Microsoft Resumes Blocking Office VBA Macros by Default After 'Temporary Pause'

Microsoft has officially resumed blocking Visual Basic for Applications VBA macros by default across Office apps, weeks after temporarily announcing plans to roll back the change. "Based on our review of customer feedback, we've made updates to both our end user and our IT admin documentation to...

Description of the security update for Office 2013: July 12, 2022 (KB5002121)

Description of the security update for Office 2013: July 12, 2022 KB5002121 Summary This security update resolves a Microsoft Office security feature bypass vulnerability. To learn more about the vulnerability, see Microsoft Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures CVE-2022-33632. Note: To apply this...

Microsoft Temporarily Rolls Back Plan to Block Office VBA Macros by Default

Five months after announcing plans to disable Visual Basic for Applications VBA macros by default in the Office productivity suite, Microsoft appears to have rolled back its plans. "Based on feedback received, a rollback has started," Microsoft employee Angela Robertson said in a July 6 comment...

Researchers Warn of Spam Campaign Targeting Victims with SVCReady Malware

A new wave of phishing campaigns has been observed spreading a previously documented malware called SVCReady. "The malware is notable for the unusual way it is delivered to target PCs — using shellcode hidden in the properties of Microsoft Office documents," Patrick Schläpfer, a threat analyst at...

Emotet Testing New Delivery Ideas After Microsoft Disables VBA Macros by Default

The threat actor behind the prolific Emotet botnet is testing new attack methods on a small scale before co-opting them into their larger volume malspam campaigns, potentially in response to Microsoft's move to disable Visual Basic for Applications VBA macros by default across its products. Calli...

What’s with the shared VBA code between Transparent Tribe and other threat actors?

By Vanja Svajcer and Vitor Ventura. Recently, we've been researching several threat actors operating in South Asia: Transparent Tribe, SideCopy, etc., that deploy a range of remote access trojans RATs. After a hunting session in our malware sample repositories and VirusTotal while looking into...

Microsoft takes macros out of the equation for five Office apps

Microsoft says it is going to disable macros in five Office apps by default. Besides Excel 4.0 macros, which were disabled by default last month, now VBA macros obtained from the Internet will be blocked by default as well. The change will begin rolling out in Version 2203, starting with Current...

Microsoft Disables Internet Macros in Office Apps by Default to Block Malware Attacks

Microsoft on Monday said it's taking steps to disable Visual Basic for Applications VBA macros by default across its products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Visio, for documents downloaded from the web in an attempt to eliminate an entire class of attack vector. "Bad actors send...