CAPEC-657
Malicious Automated Software Update via Spoofing
An attackers uses identify or content spoofing to trick a client into performing an automated software update from a malicious source. A malicious automated software update that leverages spoofing can include content or identity spoofing as well as protocol spoofing. Content or identity spoofing attacks can trigger updates in software by embedding scripted mechanisms within a malicious web page, which masquerades as a legitimate update source. Scripting mechanisms communicate with software components and trigger updates from locations specified by the attackers' server. The result is the client believing there is a legitimate software update available but instead downloading a malicious update from the attacker.
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Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-657: Malicious Automated Software Update via Spoofing: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/657.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/657?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.
Consequences
| Impact | Affects | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Execute Unauthorized Commands | Access Control, Availability, Confidentiality |
Weaknesses it exploits
- CWE-494 Download of Code Without Integrity Check
Recent CVEs with these weaknesses
- 7.2CVE-2026-118791
The application implements software update functionality without adequate authenticity and integrity validation, allowing update packages to be accepted without sufficient cryptographic verification.
- 6.3CVE-2026-112170
The software downloads upgrade files without performing integrity checks, allowing the installation of tampered updates.
- 9.2CVE-2026-118462
Update components download and execute code without proper authenticity verification, relying on ignored hashes or forgeable checksums. Some update paths also permit archive traversal or script execution.
- 2.0CVE-2026-123508
Vikunja before 2.7.1 contains a supply chain vulnerability in its mage release targets that fetch the xgo module and Docker image by mutable latest references. Attackers who compromise the upstream xgo module, image, or registry can inject…
- 7.5CVE-2026-104657
Missing integrity verification in the Progress Software Fiddler Download and Setup Skill on Linux, macOS, and Windows which allows an attacker to compromise or influence a release component and execute attacker-controlled code when a user …
- 2.1CVE-2026-121750
Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.40.5 through 0.40.8, `nvm_download_artifact` downloads a release archive directly to its final path in `$NVM_DIR/.cache` a…
- 8.6CVE-2026-110022
The PFI plugin framework deploys executable assemblies (DLLs) from a signed plugin package into the local plugin repository and loads them via reflection, but the deployment routine processes archive entries that were never covered by the …
- 7.4CVE-2026-92092
A flaw was found in openshift-ansible. The installer container's `run` script downloads and executes remote inventory and dynamic scripts without integrity verification. A remote attacker, by performing a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack or…
The newest records naming one of them. Each weakness's page lists them all.
Related attack patterns
- Part of
- CAPEC-186 Malicious Software Update
Examples
An example of the spoofing strategy would be the eTrust Antivirus Webscan Automated Update Remote Code Execut…
An example of the spoofing strategy would be the eTrust Antivirus Webscan Automated Update Remote Code Execution vulnerability (CVE-2006-3976) and (CVE-2006-3977) whereby an ActiveX control could be remotely manipulated by an attacker controlled web page to download and execute the attackers' code without integrity checking.
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