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T1582 SMS Control

Adversaries may delete, alter, or send SMS messages without user authorization. This could be used to hide C2 SMS messages, spread malware, or various external effects.

This can be accomplished by requesting the RECEIVE_SMS or SEND_SMS permissions depending on what the malware is attempting to do. If the app is set as the default SMS handler on the device, the SMS_DELIVER broadcast intent can be registered, which allows the app to write to the SMS content provider. The content provider directly modifies the messaging database on the device, which could allow malicious applications with this ability to insert, modify, or delete arbitrary messages on the device.21

Item Value
ID T1582
Sub-techniques
Tactics TA0034
Platforms Android
Version 1.1
Created 11 September 2020
Last Modified 24 October 2025

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
S1095 AhRat AhRat can send SMS messages.31
S0292 AndroRAT AndroRAT can send SMS messages.7
S0422 Anubis Anubis can send, receive, and delete SMS messages.13
S0540 Asacub Asacub can send SMS messages from compromised devices.21
S0655 BusyGasper BusyGasper can send an SMS message after the device boots, messages containing logs, messages to adversary-specified numbers with custom content, and can delete all SMS messages on the device.26
S0480 Cerberus Cerberus can send SMS messages from a device.18
S0425 Corona Updates Corona Updates can send SMS messages.4
S0301 Dendroid Dendroid can send and block SMS messages.19
S0505 Desert Scorpion Desert Scorpion can send SMS messages.25
S1054 Drinik Drinik can steal incoming SMS messages and send SMS messages from compromised devices. 3
S1092 Escobar Escobar can modify, send, and delete SMS messages.28
S0522 Exobot Exobot can forward SMS messages.11
S0509 FakeSpy FakeSpy can send SMS messages.23
S1067 FluBot FluBot can send SMS phishing messages to other contacts on an infected device.56
S0423 Ginp Ginp can send SMS messages.35
S1231 GodFather GodFather has requested for the SEND_SMS permission to send SMS messages.30
S0551 GoldenEagle GoldenEagle has sent messages to an attacker-controlled number.9
S0536 GPlayed GPlayed can send SMS messages.8
S1185 LightSpy LightSpy has sent and deleted SMS messages.333432
S0485 Mandrake Mandrake can block, forward, hide, and send SMS messages.17
S0539 Red Alert 2.0 Red Alert 2.0 can send SMS messages.10
S0411 Rotexy Rotexy can automatically reply to SMS messages, and optionally delete them.29
S1062 S.O.V.A. S.O.V.A. can send SMS messages.27
S1055 SharkBot SharkBot can hide and send SMS messages. SharkBot can also change which application is the device’s default SMS handler.20
S0549 SilkBean SilkBean can send SMS messages.9
S1195 SpyC23 SpyC23 can send SMS messages.14
S0328 Stealth Mango Stealth Mango deletes incoming SMS messages from specified numbers, including those that contain particular strings.12
S1069 TangleBot TangleBot can send text messages.22
S0545 TERRACOTTA TERRACOTTA can send SMS messages.36
S0558 Tiktok Pro Tiktok Pro can send SMS messages.16
S0427 TrickMo TrickMo can delete SMS messages.24
S0489 WolfRAT WolfRAT can delete and send SMS messages.15

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1011 User Guidance Users should be encouraged to be very careful with what applications they grant SMS access to. Further, users should not change their default SMS handler to applications they do not recognize.2

References

  1. Google. (n.d.). SmsProvider.java. Retrieved September 11, 2020. ↩

  2. S.Main, D. Braun. (2013, October 14). Getting Your SMS Apps Ready for KitKat. Retrieved September 11, 2020. ↩↩

  3. Cyble. (2022, October 27). Drinik Malware Returns With Advanced Capabilities Targeting Indian Taxpayers. Retrieved November 17, 2024. ↩

  4. T. Bao, J. Lu. (2020, April 14). Coronavirus Update App Leads to Project Spy Android and iOS Spyware. Retrieved April 24, 2020. ↩

  5. Crista Giering, F. Naves, Andrew Conway, Adam McNeil . (2021, April 27). FluBot Android Malware Spreading Rapidly Through Europe, May Hit U.S. Soon. Retrieved February 28, 2023. ↩

  6. Filip TRUȚĂ, Răzvan GOSA, Adrian Mihai GOZOB. (2022, May 24). New FluBot Campaign Sweeps through Europe Targeting Android and iOS Users Alike. Retrieved February 28, 2023. ↩

  7. Dela Paz, R. (2016, October 21). BITTER: a targeted attack against Pakistan. Retrieved March 1, 2024. ↩

  8. V. Ventura. (2018, October 11). GPlayed Trojan - .Net playing with Google Market . Retrieved November 24, 2020. ↩

  9. A. Kumar, K. Del Rosso, J. Albrecht, C. Hebeisen. (2020, June 1). Mobile APT Surveillance Campaigns Targeting Uyghurs - A collection of long-running Android tooling connected to a Chinese mAPT actor. Retrieved November 10, 2020. ↩↩

  10. J. Chandraiah. (2018, July 23). Red Alert 2.0: Android Trojan targets security-seekers. Retrieved December 14, 2020. ↩

  11. Threat Fabric. (2017, February). Exobot - Android banking Trojan on the rise. Retrieved October 29, 2020. ↩

  12. Lookout. (n.d.). Stealth Mango & Tangelo. Retrieved September 27, 2018. ↩

  13. M. Feller. (2020, February 5). Infostealer, Keylogger, and Ransomware in One: Anubis Targets More than 250 Android Applications. Retrieved September 25, 2024. ↩

  14. Stefanko, L. (2020, September 30). APT‑C‑23 group evolves its Android spyware. Retrieved March 4, 2024. ↩

  15. W. Mercer, P. Rascagneres, V. Ventura. (2020, May 19). The wolf is back… . Retrieved July 20, 2020. ↩

  16. S. Desai. (2020, September 8). TikTok Spyware. Retrieved January 5, 2021. ↩

  17. R. Gevers, M. Tivadar, R. Bleotu, A. M. Barbatei, et al.. (2020, May 14). Uprooting Mandrake: The Story of an Advanced Android Spyware Framework That Went Undetected for 4 Years. Retrieved July 15, 2020. ↩

  18. Threat Fabric. (2019, August). Cerberus - A new banking Trojan from the underworld. Retrieved June 26, 2020. ↩

  19. Marc Rogers. (2014, March 6). Dendroid malware can take over your camera, record audio, and sneak into Google Play. Retrieved December 22, 2016. ↩

  20. RIFT: Research and Intelligence Fusion Team. (2022, March 3). SharkBot: a “new” generation Android banking Trojan being distributed on Google Play Store. Retrieved January 18, 2023. ↩

  21. T. Shishkova. (2018, August 28). The rise of mobile banker Asacub. Retrieved December 14, 2020. ↩

  22. Felipe Naves, Andrew Conway, W. Stuart Jones, Adam McNeil . (2021, September 23). TangleBot: New Advanced SMS Malware Targets Mobile Users Across U.S. and Canada with COVID-19 Lures. Retrieved February 28, 2023. ↩

  23. O. Almkias. (2020, July 1). FakeSpy Masquerades as Postal Service Apps Around the World. Retrieved September 15, 2020. ↩

  24. P. Asinovsky. (2020, March 24). TrickBot Pushing a 2FA Bypass App to Bank Customers in Germany. Retrieved April 24, 2020. ↩

  25. A. Blaich, M. Flossman. (2018, April 16). Lookout finds new surveillanceware in Google Play with ties to known threat actor targeting the Middle East. Retrieved September 11, 2020. ↩

  26. Alexey Firsh. (2018, August 29). BusyGasper – the unfriendly spy. Retrieved October 1, 2021. ↩

  27. ThreatFabric. (2021, September 9). S.O.V.A. - A new Android Banking trojan with fowl intentions. Retrieved February 6, 2023. ↩

  28. B. Toulas. (2022, March 12). Android malware Escobar steals your Google Authenticator MFA codes. Retrieved September 28, 2023. ↩

  29. T. Shishkova, L. Pikman. (2018, November 22). The Rotexy mobile Trojan – banker and ransomware. Retrieved September 23, 2019. ↩

  30. Merkle Science. (2023, April 25). The Godfather Android Malware: Threat under the lens. Retrieved July 16, 2025. ↩

  31. Lukas Stefanko. (2023, May 23). Android app breaking bad: From legitimate screen recording to file exfiltration within a year. Retrieved December 18, 2023. ↩

  32. Dmitry Bestuzhev. (2025, April 7). The Coordinated Kill Switch: LightSpy’s iOS Destructive Plugin Architecture Manages Device Disablement. Retrieved April 14, 2025. ↩

  33. ThreatFabric. (2023, October 2). LightSpy mAPT Mobile Payment System Attack. Retrieved January 17, 2025. ↩

  34. ThreatFabric. (2024, October 29). LightSpy: Implant for iOS. Retrieved January 30, 2025. ↩

  35. ThreatFabric. (2019, November). Ginp - A malware patchwork borrowing from Anubis. Retrieved April 8, 2020. ↩

  36. Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team. (2020, August). TERRACOTTA Android Malware: A Technical Study. Retrieved December 18, 2020. ↩