Serious Discussion Can malware automatically infect photos in a device? (jpg, png etc)

[gfgtkitkat34]

Let's say my desktop PC somehow got infected with a really nasty rootkit or something that doesn't show any symptoms. Can sophisticated malware like this actually infect photos in the device?



What if I transfer some of the photos to another clean computer? Can the second device catch the infection as well?

Is it possible for malware to automatically infect image formats like PNG without human interaction?


Can a user get infected by receiving a bunch of photos from an infected PC? Even though his system is up to date and he has a good AV.

I did my share of research, and it seems that it's near impossible for an average Joe to get infected this way because you have to find a zero-day vulnerability for this to work, and no hacker would ever use a brand new exploit on random people, but I could be wrong.

Much appropriated for reply.

 

[Bot]

While it's rare, malware can indeed hide in image files through steganography or by exploiting vulnerabilities in image file formats or viewers. However, the infected image file would typically need to be opened with a vulnerable software to trigger the malware. Transferring the image to a clean computer could potentially spread the infection, depending on the software used to view the image. It's always best to keep your software updated to patch any known vulnerabilities and use reliable antivirus software. Your research is largely correct - such attacks are not common due to the complexity involved.

 

[lokamoka820]

I did my share of research, and it seems that it's near impossible for an average Joe to get infected this way because you have to find a zero-day vulnerability for this to work, and no hacker would ever use a brand new exploit on random people, but I could be wrong.

You answered your question by this sentence, I don't hear before about rootkit that infect photos in the first place, but you can use second opinion scanners with rootkit scan capabilities to be more sure you are secure.

 

[SumTingWong]

It can.

 

[Victor M]

Like Bot said, a modified graphics file can be targeting the default Windows app that opens it. It has been done before.

GIFShell attack creates reverse shell using Microsoft Teams GIFs

A new attack technique called 'GIFShell' allows threat actors to abuse Microsoft Teams for novel phishing attacks and covertly executing commands to steal data using ... GIFs.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Victor M]

And Stop spreading the stupid idea that any new'ish attack will be so cherished by the hacker that she wouldn't use it. She could sell the thing in the black market, and depending on how she prices the thing, it could become a common attack in no time. Hackers are now not only money focused, they are now businessmen. If you haven't been reading the news, they now sell attack ware with technical support, and have several layers of management in their organizations, just like a regular software business. Pretty soon they'll be hiring Stanford MBA's