CAPEC-636
Hiding Malicious Data or Code within Files
Files on various operating systems can have a complex format which allows for the storage of other data, in addition to its contents. Often this is metadata about the file, such as a cached thumbnail for an image file. Unless utilities are invoked in a particular way, this data is not visible during the normal use of the file. It is possible for an attacker to store malicious data or code using these facilities, which would be difficult to discover.
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Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-636: Hiding Malicious Data or Code within Files: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/636.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/636?via=ask-ai-copy, which lists recent CVEs with the weaknesses it exploits. Cite the sources.Opens a third-party assistant; its answer is its own, not cve.bz's. The prompt holds only this attack pattern's id and public links.
Prerequisites
The operating system must support a file system that allows for alternate data storage for a file.
Mitigations
Many tools are available to search for the hidden data. Scan regularly for such data using one of these tools.
Weaknesses it exploits
- CWE-506 Embedded Malicious Code
Recent CVEs with these weaknesses
- 9.8CVE-2026-111862
Rank Math SEO PRO for WordPress is affected by a supply-chain compromise in a subset of version 3.0.123 packages downloaded or updated between October 15, 2026 at 20:02 UTC and October 16, 2026 at 07:12 UTC. Rank Math states that the affec…
- 9.8CVE-2026-97230
IO::Socket::SSL::SelfCertificate versions 1.00 for Perl contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated URL. The generate_certificate runs a Python script saved as a certificate file. The pyhton script attempts to retrieve…
- 7.8CVE-2026-95831
Crypt::SelfCertificate versions from 1.01 through 1.05 for Perl contains malware which executes Python code from an obfuscated URL. The generate_certificate runs a Python script saved as a certificate file. The pyhton script attempts to …
- 9.3CVE-2026-74232
Zbtlink L3_V2_8 firmware 3.0.0.4.528, Zbtlink WE826-T2 firmware 19.1101, Zbtlink ZBT-7628 firmware 1.0.0.2.007, Zbtlink ZBT-ZBT7621 firmware 1.0.0.3.001, MoreQuick MQAC-7620, MQAC-7620A, MQAP-7620, MQAP-7620A, and MQAP-7628 firmware 1.0.0.…
- 9.8CVE-2026-77651
The arrayref crate 0.3.10 for Rust can trigger execution of malicious code when compiling a project that uses the crate, because it has a rogue dependency that registers with a command-and-control server to offer arbitrary code execution.
- 9.8CVE-2026-77650
The append-only-vec crate 0.1.9 for Rust can trigger execution of malicious code when compiling a project that uses the crate, because it has a rogue dependency that registers with a command-and-control server to offer arbitrary code execu…
- 9.8CVE-2026-77649
The internment crate 0.8.7 for Rust can trigger execution of malicious code when compiling a project that uses the crate, because it has a rogue dependency that registers with a command-and-control server to offer arbitrary code execution.
- 9.3CVE-2026-73533
Ninja Tables Pro 5.2.11 contains an embedded malicious code vulnerability introduced via a tampered plugin build served through a decommissioned update server. The tampered build introduced a rogue PHP file (app/Library/updater/NinjaTableD…
The newest records naming one of them. Each weakness's page lists them all.
Related attack patterns
- Part of
- CAPEC-165 File Manipulation
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