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Fake Flash Updaters Push Cryptocurrency Miners ![Clock Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-clock.svg) 4 min read Related Products [![Advanced Threat Prevention icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/strata_RGB_logo_Icon_Color.png)Advanced Threat Prevention](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/product-category/advanced-threat-prevention/ "Advanced Threat Prevention") * ![Profile Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-profile-grey.svg) By: * [Brad Duncan](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/author/brad-duncan/) * ![Published Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-calendar-grey.svg) Published:October 11, 2018 * ![Tags Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-category.svg) Categories: * [Cybercrime](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/cybercrime/) * [Malware](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/malware/) * [Threat Research](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/threat-research/) * ![Tags Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-tags-grey.svg) Tags: * [Adobe Flash](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/adobe-flash/) * [FakeFlash](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/fakeflash/) * [![Download Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-download.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners/?pdf=download&lg=en&_wpnonce=c280d701ab "Click here to download") * [![Print Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-print.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners/?pdf=print&lg=en&_wpnonce=c280d701ab "Click here to print") Share![Down arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/down-arrow.svg) * ![Link Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-share-link.svg) * [![Link Email](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-sms.svg)](mailto:?subject=Fake%20Flash%20Updaters%20Push%20Cryptocurrency%20Miners&body=Check%20out%20this%20article%20https%3A%2F%2Funit42.paloaltonetworks.com%2Funit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners%2F "Share in email") * [![Facebook Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-fb-share.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Funit42.paloaltonetworks.com%2Funit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners%2F "Share in Facebook") * [![LinkedIn Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-linkedin-share.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Funit42.paloaltonetworks.com%2Funit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners%2F&title=Fake%20Flash%20Updaters%20Push%20Cryptocurrency%20Miners "Share in LinkedIn") * [![Twitter Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-twitter-share.svg)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Funit42.paloaltonetworks.com%2Funit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners%2F&text=Fake%20Flash%20Updaters%20Push%20Cryptocurrency%20Miners "Share in Twitter") * [![Reddit Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-reddit-share.svg)](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com//www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Funit42.paloaltonetworks.com%2Funit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners%2F&ts=markdown "Share in Reddit") * [![Mastodon Icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-mastodon-share.svg)](https://mastodon.social/share?text=Fake%20Flash%20Updaters%20Push%20Cryptocurrency%20Miners%20https%3A%2F%2Funit42.paloaltonetworks.com%2Funit42-fake-flash-updaters-push-cryptocurrency-miners%2F "Share in Mastodon") In most cases, fake Flash updates pushing malware are not very stealthy. In recent years, such imposters have often been poorly-disguised malware executables or script-based downloaders designed to install cryptocurrency miners, information stealers, or ransomware. If a victim runs such poorly-disguised malware on a vulnerable Windows host, no visible activity happens, unless the fake updater is pushing ransomware. However, a recent type of fake Flash update has implemented additional deception. As early as August 2018, some samples impersonating Flash updates have borrowed pop-up notifications from the official Adobe installer. These fake Flash updates install unwanted programs like an XMRig cryptocurrency miner, but this malware can also update a victim's Flash Player to the latest version. Because of the legitimate Flash update, a potential victim may not notice anything out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, an XMRig cryptocurrency miner or other unwanted program is quietly running in the background of the victim's Windows computer. ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fakeflash_1.png) *Figure 1: Flow chart for this activity* Trends While searching for these particular fake Flash updates, we noticed Windows executables file names starting with ***AdobeFlashPlayer\_\_*** from non-Adobe, cloud-based web servers. These downloads always contained the string ***flashplayer\_down.php?clickid=*** in the URL. We found 113 examples of malware meeting these criteria since March 2018 in [AutoFocus](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/secure-the-network/subscriptions/autofocus). 77 of these malware samples are identified with a [CoinMiner](https://autofocus.paloaltonetworks.com/#/tag/Commodity.CoinMiner) tag in AutoFocus. The remaining 36 samples share other tags with those 77 CoinMiner-related executables. See [Appendix A](https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/blob/master/fake_Flash_updates/2018-09-fake-Flash-updates-APPENDIX-A.txt) for the full list of the file hashes. [Appendix B](https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/blob/master/fake_Flash_updates/2018-09-fake-Flash-updates-APPENDIX-B.txt) lists 473 file names and URLs for these fake Flash updates from March 25th, 2018 through September 10th, 2018. ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_2.png) *Figure 2: Number of fake Flash updaters from this campaign.* Details Based solely on AutoFocus data, I could not determine how potential victims were arriving at these URLs delivering fake Flash updates. However, I tested a sample on August 24th, 2018 with the SHA256 hash [485352a3985bce69a020dc49e970fde337279eb1986ea699ca6bec1f5a8068ac](https://www.reverse.it/sample/485352a3985bce69a020dc49e970fde337279eb1986ea699ca6bec1f5a8068ac?environmentId=120). This sample generated Adobe Flash installer popup windows and a Flash Player installation. An XMRig Cryptocurrency miner then worked in the background of my infected Windows host. Potential victims will receive warnings about running such downloaded files on their Windows computer. On a host in my test environment running Windows 7 Service Pack 1, I double-clicked one of the samples. Windows provided a typical warning about an unknown publisher that victims can easily click through on vulnerable Windows hosts. ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_3.png) *Figure 3: A warning when running the fake Flash updater.* ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_4.png) *Figure 4: After running the program, it downloads an actual Flash Player from Adobe.* ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_5.png) *Figure 5: These windows are part of a real Flash Player installation.* ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_6.png) *Figure 6: The installation process finally asks you about Flash updates.* ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_7.png) *Figure 7: Page from Adobe thanking you for installing Flash Player.* ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_8.png) *Figure 8: Flash Player was updated to the latest version on my lab host.* Network traffic during the infection consisted mainly of the Flash update. But my infected lab host soon generated traffic associated with XMRig cryptocurrency mining over TCP port 14444. The Monero wallet used for this miner was 41ompKc8rx9eEXtAAm6RJTTm6jg8p6v3y33UqLMsUJS3gdUh739yf7ThiSVzsU4me7hbtVB61rf7EAVsJeRJKGQH4LFi3hR. ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_9.png) *Figure 9: Infection traffic filtered in Wireshark, showing start of XMRig traffic.* ![](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FakeFlash_10.png) *Figure 10: XMRig traffic with the Monero wallet number.* Near the beginning of the traffic, my infected Windows host generated an HTTP POST request to ***osdsoft\[.\]com*** . This domain is associated with updaters or installers pushing cryptocurrency miners and other unwanted software. [One such example from December 2017](https://www.reverse.it/sample/3578fac0d2b4faefc1ae51e9a24602bc09198efc5babdf3f66731b26b62b59fb?environmentId=100) named ***free-mod-menu-download-ps3.exe*** also shows ***osdsoft\[.\]com*** followed by XMRig traffic on TCP port 14444 like the example used in this blog. However, other malware samples reveal ***osdsoft\[.\]com*** is associated with other unwanted programs usually classified as malware. Conclusion This campaign uses legitimate activity to hide distribution of cryptocurrency miners and other unwanted programs. Organizations with decent web filtering and educated users have a much lower risk of infection by these fake updates. Palo Alto Networks customers are further protected from this threat. Our threat prevention platform detects this type of malware. And [AutoFocus](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/secure-the-network/subscriptions/autofocus) users can track this activity by combining the [CoinMiner](https://autofocus.paloaltonetworks.com/#/tag/Commodity.CoinMiner) tag with the appropriate search parameters. Appendix A 113 malware examples for these fake Flash updaters found in AutoFocus. Information is available at [https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/blob/master/fake\_Flash\_updates/2018-09-fake-Flash-updates-APPENDIX-A.txt](https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/blob/master/fake_Flash_updates/2018-09-fake-Flash-updates-APPENDIX-A.txt) Appendix B 473 file names and associated URLs for fake Flash updates found in AutoFocus. Information is available at [https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/blob/master/fake\_Flash\_updates/2018-09-fake-Flash-updates-APPENDIX-B.txt](https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/blob/master/fake_Flash_updates/2018-09-fake-Flash-updates-APPENDIX-B.txt) Back to top ### Tags * [Adobe Flash](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/adobe-flash/ "Adobe Flash") * [FakeFlash](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/fakeflash/ "FakeFlash") [Threat Research Center](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com "Threat Research") [Next: Unit 42 Vulnerability Research October 2018 Disclosures -- Adobe](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit-42-vulnerability-research-october-2018-disclosures-adobe/ "Unit 42 Vulnerability Research October 2018 Disclosures – Adobe") ### Related Articles * [Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Vulnerability Research May 2017 Disclosures](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-palo-alto-networks-unit-42-vulnerability-research-may-2017-disclosures/ "article - table of contents") * [Pulling the Brake on the Magnitude EK Train](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-pulling-brake-magnitude-ek-train/ "article - table of contents") * [Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Vulnerability Research March 2017 Disclosures](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-palo-alto-networks-unit-42-vulnerability-research-march-2017-disclosures/ "article - table of contents") ## Related Resources ![Pictorial representation of a pay-per-install threat group campaign prodiving infection service for spreading malware. 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Close-up view of a digital screen displaying a glitched and pixelated image of a skull-like shape.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/02_Malware_Category_1920x900-2-786x368.jpg) [![category icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/icon-threat-research.svg)Threat Research](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/threat-research/) August 20, 2026 [#### Identity Abuse Through Trusted Communication Channels](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/communication-channel-identity-risks/) * [Authentication](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/authentication/ "authentication") * [Identity theft](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/identity-theft/ "identity theft") * [Malware](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/malware/ "malware") [Read now ![Right arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-right-arrow-withtail.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/communication-channel-identity-risks/ "Identity Abuse Through Trusted Communication Channels") ![Pictorial representation of Kimwolf botnet malware family. Digital screen with a warning sign reading "Malware." 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A close-up of a computer circuit board with a central microchip is depicted. Red digital data streams in the form of glowing binary numbers and arrows appear to flow in and out of the chip. 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An artistic depiction of a digital workspace featuring an open laptop with a red virus on the screen.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/03_Malware_Category_1920x900-7-786x368.jpg) [![category icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/top-threats.svg)High Profile Threats](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/top-cyberthreats/) August 6, 2026 [#### ChainDrop: Inside a Self-Propagating npm Worm](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/chaindrop-npm-worm-analysis/) * [Blockchain](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/blockchain/ "blockchain") * [ChainDrop](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/chaindrop/ "ChainDrop") * [Claude code](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/claude-code/ "Claude code") [Read now ![Right arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-right-arrow-withtail.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/chaindrop-npm-worm-analysis/ "ChainDrop: Inside a Self-Propagating npm Worm") ![Pictorial representation of Token-jacking. A person types on a laptop with multiple digital interface elements projected, including an "AI" icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AdobeStock_1246251272-2-786x369.jpg) [![category icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/icon-threat-research.svg)Threat Research](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/threat-research/) August 6, 2026 [#### Token Jacking: Cybercriminals Could Be Stealing Your AI Resources](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/ai-token-jacking/) * [AI API](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/ai-api/ "AI API") * [AI gateway](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/ai-gateway/ "AI gateway") * [API keys](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/api-keys/ "API keys") [Read now ![Right arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-right-arrow-withtail.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/ai-token-jacking/ "Token Jacking: Cybercriminals Could Be Stealing Your AI Resources") ![Pictorial representation of malware bypassing DNS and communicating directly to IP addresses. Futuristic digital cityscape with glowing blue and orange geometric structures, resembling skyscrapers.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/07_DNS_Overview_1920x900-786x368.jpg) [![category icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/icon-threat-research.svg)Threat Research](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/threat-research/) August 4, 2026 [#### Almost Half of Malware Samples Communicate Direct to IP](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/malware-bypass-dns-direct-to-ip/) * [Command and Control](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/command-and-control/ "Command and Control") * [D2IP](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/d2ip/ "D2IP") * [Exfiltration](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/exfiltration/ "exfiltration") [Read now ![Right arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-right-arrow-withtail.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/malware-bypass-dns-direct-to-ip/ "Almost Half of Malware Samples Communicate Direct to IP") * ![Slider arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/slider-arrow-left.svg) * ![Slider arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/slider-arrow-left.svg) ![Close button](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/close-modal.svg) ![Enlarged Image]() ![Newsletter](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/unit42-footer-subscribe-desktop.png) ![UNIT 42 Small Logo](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/palo-alto-logo-small.svg) Get updates from Unit 42 ## Peace of mind comes from staying ahead of threats. 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