Malicious Screensaver: Malware on Gnome-Look.org
A screensaver from Gnome-Look.org at closer look revealed itself to be malware.
When installing an innocuous "waterfall" screensaver from Gnome-Look.org, an Ubuntu user noticed something strange: apart from the screensaver not being on GNOME's approved list, it also contained a script that performed some peculiar substitutions.
Among other things, it took a file named auto.bash from the server and installed it on /user/bin/, along with a file named gnome.sh that it put in the /etc/profile.d/ directory. The script then issued ping requests to send very large packages to a particular server. The script presumably helped serve in a denial-of-service (DoS) attack against other servers that provide exploits for huge multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft.
The user posted his discovery in the Ubuntu Forums and the screensaver has since disappeared from the Gnome-Look.org site. The guesswork as to what the script exactly did and how to remove was batted about in the forum. Apparently the Debian package installed under the name app5552. It was determined that removing the malware together with the malicious script required the command
sudo rm -f /usr/bin/Auto.bash /usr/bin/run.bash /etc/profile.d/gnome.sh /usr/bin/index.php /usr/bin/run.bash && sudo dpkg -r app5552
In general the lesson to be learned is if you want a secure system, don't download any software outside the official package sources without at least looking at the source code first.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
Reflections on Trusting Trust