The secret behind “unkillable” Android backdoor called xHelper has been revealed

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In February, a researcher detailed a widely circulating Android backdoor that’s so pernicious that it survives factory resets, a trait that makes the malware impossible to remove without taking unusual measures.

The analysis found that the unusual persistence was the result of rogue folders containing a trojan installer, neither of which was removed by a reset. The trojan dropper would then reinstall the backdoor in the event of a reset. Despite those insights, the researcher still didn’t know precisely how that happened. Now, a different researcher has filled in the missing pieces. More about that later. First, a brief summary of xHelper.

A backdoor with superuser rights

The malicious Android app poses as a performance enhancer that removes old and unneeded files. Antivirus provider Malwarebytes has detected it on 33,000 devices, mainly located in the United States, while AV from Russia-based Kaspersky Lab found it on 50,000 devices. There’s no evidence xHelper has ever been distributed through Google Play.

Once installed, xHelper installs a backdoor that remotely installs apps downloaded from an attacker-controlled server. It also executes commands as a superuser, a powerful privilege setting that gives the malware unfettered system rights. Besides that, the backdoor has access to sensitive data, including browser cookies used to sign in to sites automatically. Once the backdoor is installed, the fake cleaner app disappears from the main screen and program menu and can only be viewed by inspecting the list of installed apps in the system settings.

February’s post was penned by Malwarebytes researcher Nathan Collier. He reported the ordeal one user had

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