AbstractEmu
MITRE ATT&CK: S1061 View on attack.mitre.org
Aliases: AbstractEmu
- First seen
- 2021-10-01 00:00:00
- Malware type
- rootkit, trojan
- Family
- Malware family
- Operating systems
- android
- Profile updated
- 2026-07-07 14:03:07
Targeted industries: technology-and-telecommunications retail-and-hospitality
Targeted regions: country_code:us
Context
AbstractEmu is mobile malware that was first seen in Google Play and other third-party stores in October 2021. It was discovered in 19 Android applications, of which at least 7 abused known Android exploits for obtaining root permissions. AbstractEmu was observed primarily impacting users in the United States, however victims are believed to be across a total of 17 countries.
Malware & tools used
- Access Notifications (attack-pattern)
- System Checks (attack-pattern)
- Unix Shell (attack-pattern)
- Obfuscated Files or Information (attack-pattern)
- Internet Connection Discovery (attack-pattern)
- System Network Configuration Discovery (attack-pattern)
- Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion (attack-pattern)
- Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (attack-pattern)
- Web Protocols (attack-pattern)
- SMS Messages (attack-pattern)
- Audio Capture (attack-pattern)
- Exfiltration Over C2 Channel (attack-pattern)
- Disable or Modify Tools (attack-pattern)
- Software Discovery (attack-pattern)
- System Information Discovery (attack-pattern)
- Data from Local System (attack-pattern)
- Video Capture (attack-pattern)
- Call Log (attack-pattern)
- Location Tracking (attack-pattern)
- Device Administrator Permissions (attack-pattern)
- Ingress Tool Transfer (attack-pattern)
- Download New Code at Runtime (attack-pattern)
- Contact List (attack-pattern)
Reports & references
- blogs.blackberry.com — Dot Net Stubs Sowing The Seeds Of Discord (report)
- malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de — Apk.Abstract Emu (report)
- blog.lookout.com — Lookout Discovers Global Rooting Malware Campaign (report)
- sentinelone.com — The Art And Science Of Macos Malware Hunting With Radare2 Leveraging Xrefs Yara And Zignatures (report)
- MITRE ATT&CK — S1061 (report)
- lookout.com — Lookout Discovers Global Rooting Malware Campaign (report)