Ajina Android Malware

Verticals Targeted: Financial 

Executive Summary

Ajina is an Android banking malware that masquerades as legitimate Android apps in order to steal banking information and intercept 2FA.

Key Takeaways

• Ajina is an Android banking malware that masquerades as legitimate Android apps in order to steal banking information and intercept 2FA.
• The malware has been active since at least November 2023, with activity that has continued through 2024. 
• Targets have included users in Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, and Russia.
• At present, around 1400 unique variants of Ajina have been identified.

What is Ajina?

Ajina Android malware was observed targeting users in Central Asia. The banking malware masquerades as legitimate Android apps in order to steal banking information and intercept 2FA. The malware has been active since at least November 2023, with activity that has continued through 2024. Targets have included users in Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, and Russia. At present, around 1400 unique variants of Ajina have been identified. Group-IB reported on Ajina.

Ajina is named after a malicious mythical Uzbek spirit known for its shape shifting abilities and its propensity to create chaos. The name aptly describes this malware, which masquerades as legitimate apps, including banking apps, government portals, delivery apps, and commonly used utilities, to coerce victims into downloading the malicious file, which compromises their devices. It then wreaks havoc by stealing the victim’s banking information.

In addition to stealing a user’s banking information, Ajina is capable of gathering SIM card details and intercepting SMS messages. SMS intercept allows the malware to potentially capture 2FA codes needed to login to bank accounts. Ajina is also considered to be an adaptable malware. At least two distinct versions have been observed, with the newer version having additional functionality, including the ability to steal phone numbers, bank card information, and PIN codes.

Ajina is primarily spread via social engineering and is distributed via social messaging platforms including Telegram. The threat actors use multiple accounts to distribute malicious links and files. They pretend to promote an offer or reward program or to be affiliated with the local tax authorities. This tactic exploits the user’s tendency to react to messages that appear to be urgent or exciting. The threat actors are also known to send messages with a malicious file attached or a link that sends the user directly to a channel that hosts the malware, counting on the user’s curiosity to entice them to click the link.

Ajina is thought to operate on an affiliate model, with the managing threat actors maintaining the infrastructure and affiliates distributing the malware.

IOCs

PolySwarm has multiple samples of Ajina.

0e0d3f358dba238159dbcbd8bcc8e51e17384c5bb7613b3ccc80b03b5871b2a1

3a84ca08bce61750bcbac1d1d899d96da3ab150d1d03982c0ea84f55a2c819d2

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0a917ae57c5074f1535728a3b3aa6fe09a8bdb4c159e7387e13470b589abc518

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d504a448e15bd537f73142996f5caffe953b28e1e57a10d3324887e29bbb4225

676b3eea2db66e16ba826455eacea613483ab2a4dc28c8d772d33fb5dbcd65c2

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450407a3c06be1bf80a221f1269c4946f838f4a022f85e1e5b2b4025f56933c7

483f48c5ca0de2d72c6c81389516431a53a56da32cc90a8193fc48cd62c5fb74

7347a47abc41d077eed32b12ee44f273ac7770eb58a85885fb90a73c5f63de5d

5e36ff5c6017f5c5ab52550543a74b373081089b44166ca982f63435628ec254

b3c23584afa643afed7d4ba074097807470032160bc32433a06ecc4a7fbd40cb

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c70677f01ef8f6ccc6d45fcd305aa7bd884a4463f4459b4be76a800816a844c3

5a1fa077eb45ff6f5829d93a0fc4e80f386260fee477deab00a6507528b2f574

2c5c4f0d153b16ded48825c02656850adfa03a62c42c605e066c23f20b4e0ffb

0fa0ff1b0f9166080558b63119eb2cd4b0c68e86c43530e8aaeb8e9befc34b91

f074b0bdcd56eeb9a758c882f016c5cc6abeb2817e1c61620f9deb30abb23624

c77e81e4815dcb97c499f872eda849964af2c6b56273de5da6bfe8a19224a560

2ef63d8aba6a02832e5d4bf966e6b6326a181bf332f3423feb5e3e581d37a9cb

d4e124d8388d17b36d18005b3a9f6520a46a94cfd04cac504d4877e8a392def7

12a8195a89a49f105a9f972acaf51748f7b79c36db767c514c655dd9208d9c26

You can use the following CLI command to search for all Ajina samples in our portal:

$ polyswarm link list -f Ajina

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