Description

Palo Alto Networks discovered an Android spyware, known as Landfall, which is used in zero-day attacks against owners of Samsung devices. The malware takes advantage of a vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-21042, affecting a Samsung image processing library, allowing for remote code execution. Attackers have distributed the spyware in specially crafted DNG image files over WhatsApp, leveraging this vulnerability through a zero-click attack that did not require any user interaction. Palo Alto confirmed that WhatsApp was not compromised. The campaign targeted smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S22, S23, S24, Z Fold4, and Z Flip4. Once installed, Landfall can move laterally, capture screenshots, record audio, track location, and steal sensitive data such as photos, contacts, and call logs. Samsung patched CVE-2025-21042 in April 2025, though its advisory did not mention active exploitation. Palo Alto's findings suggest that attacks began as early as July 2024, meaning the vulnerability was exploited as a zero-day for several months before the fix. Researchers also found significant similarities between CVE-2025-21042 and yet another bug, CVE-2025-21043, which had also been exploited by remote code execution via DNG image processing. Reported by Meta and WhatsApp, CVE-2025-21043 is similar to Apple's CVE-2025-43300, which can be coupled with another zero-day, CVE-2025-55177, to distribute spyware on iOS devices. Palo Alto did not find any direct connections between these incidents and Landfall, though. Attribution remains uncertain: Palo Alto is tracking the actor as CL-UNK-1054, which has some overlaps to the UAE-linked Stealth Falcon group, although without conclusive ties. The malware's code structure and naming conventions bear some similarities to those of NSO Group, Variston, or Cytrox. Landfall seems to have focused its targets in the Middle East and North Africa, such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Morocco.