Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Jun 30, 2025

Password manager Passwordstate hacked to deploy malware on customer systems

Password manager Passwordstate hacked to deploy malware on customer systems

A mysterious threat actor has compromised the update mechanism of enterprise password manager application Passwordstate and deployed malware on its users' devices, most of which are enterprise customers.

A mysterious threat actor has compromised the update mechanism of enterprise password manager application Passwordstate and deployed malware on its users’ devices, most of which are enterprise customers.

Click Studios, the Australian software firm behind Passwordstate, has notified its 29,000 customers earlier today via email.

According to a copy of the company’s communications, obtained by Polish tech news site Niebezpiecznik, the malware-laced update was live for 28 hours between April 20, 20:33 UTC and April 22, 00:30 UTC.


Danish security firm CSIS, which dealt with the aftermath of this supply chain attack, published today an analysis of the attacker’s malware. The security firm said the threat actor forced the Passwordstate apps to download an additional ZIP file named “Passwordstate_upgrade.zip” that contained a DLL file named “moserware.secretsplitter.dll.” After installation, this DLL file would ping a remote command and control server, from where it would request new commands and retrieve additional payloads.

While initially it was unknown what attackers collected from infected systems, in two updates [PDF, PDF] published after this article went live, Click Studios said the malware collected the following information and sent it back to its command and control server:

Computer Name, User Name, Domain Name, Current Process Name, Current Process Id, All running Processes name and ID, All running services name, Display name and status, Passwordstate instance’s Proxy Server Address, Username and Password

In other words, the password store was taken. According to the Australian company, the following information is typically included in the password table:

Title, UserName, Description, GenericField1, GenericField2, GenericField3, Notes, URL, Password

Although the company said “there is no evidence of encryption keys or database connection strings” were taken, Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, Principal Threat Researcher at SentinelOne, pointed out on Twitter, that there are tools currently available that can decrypt the Passwordstate vaults and recover cleartext passwords.

Click Studios released a hotfix package [ZIP] that would help customers remove the attacker’s malware, which the company named Moserware. [instructions are in the image above]

Click Studios said the hack took place after a threat actor compromised the “In-Place Upgrade functionality” of a CDN network not controlled by Click Studios. Only the company’s Windows client appears to have been modified to add malware in the attack.

29,000 companies now have to rotate passwords


In the aftermath of this security breach, the Australian firm has told customers to change all the passwords they stored inside compromised Passwordstate password managers as soon as possible.

Since this is a password manager is sold primarily in bulk to enterprises, to whom it is advertised as an on-premises system, changing passwords won’t involve just email and website accounts, but also passwords for internal gear such as firewalls, VPNs, switches, routers, network gateways, and others, which many employees would most likely have saved inside the app thinking it was a secure local storage system.

“This is a real annoying breach,” William Thomas, a malware analyst at UK security firm Cyjax, told The Record. “Imagine having to change all your passwords for each device on the network, on a Friday.”

Several network administrators have told The Record on Friday that they had to work over the weekend to change the passwords of all their IT inventory as a result of the breach. Many companies also intend to activate incident response plans to check logs for unauthorized access as a result of this incident as well, resulting in many overtime hours for their already swamped security personnel.

Comments

Darth Neo 2 year ago
This is hardly relevant. The event happened in 2021 and the vendor identified and took action within 28hrs. They have subsequently made major improvements to their software, including removing the previous method of updating. The issue affected Build 9117 and they are now on release 9823. I have to question the reasoning on reporting news that is over 2 years old and has been resolved promptly by the vendor.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
×