So it only works if you open a file with a .lnk extension?
post
TL;DR: Don't open .lnk files.
Here's a list of blocked file names I'm using on my Qbittorrent. Contains executables and other junk I don't want getting downloaded, maybe y'all get some use out of it too:
Super long list
*(sample).*
*.0xe
*.73k
*.73p
*.7z
*.89k
*.89z
*.8ck
*.a7r
*.ac
*.acc
*.ace
*.acr
*.actc
*.action
*.actm
*.ade
*.adp
*.afmacro
*.afmacros
*.ahk
*.ai
*.aif
*.air
*.alz
*.api
*.apk
*.app
*.appimage
*.applescript
*.application
*.appx
*.arc
*.arj
*.arscript
*.asb
*.asp
*.aspx
*.aspx-exe
*.atmx
*.azw2
*.ba_
*.bak
*.bas
*.bash
*.bat
*.bdjo
*.bdmv
*.beam
*.bin
*.bmp
*.bms
*.bns
*.bsa
*.btm
*.bz2
*.c
*.cab
*.caction
*.cci
*.cda
*.cdb
*.cel
*.celx
*.cfs
*.cgi
*.cheat
*.chm
*.ckpt
*.cla
*.class
*.clpi
*.cmd
*.cof
*.coffee
*.com
*.command
*.conf
*.config
*.cpl
*.crt
*.cs
*.csh
*.csharp
*.csproj
*.css
*.csv
*.cue
*.cur
*.cyw
*.daemon
*.dat
*.data-00000-of-00001
*.db
*.deamon
*.deb
*.dek
*.diz
*.dld
*.dll
*.dmc
*.dmg
*.doc
*.docb
*.docm
*.docx
*.dot
*.dotb
*.dotm
*.drv
*.ds
*.dw
*.dword
*.dxl
*.e_e
*.ear
*.ebacmd
*.ebm
*.ebs
*.ebs2
*.ecf
*.eham
*.elf
*.elf-so
*.email
*.emu
*.epk
*.es
*.esh
*.etc
*.ex4
*.ex5
*.ex_
*.exe
*.exe-only
*.exe-service
*.exe-small
*.exe1
*.exopc
*.exz
*.ezs
*.ezt
*.fas
*.fba
*.fky
*.flac
*.flatpak
*.flv
*.fpi
*.frs
*.fxp
*.gadget
*.gat
*.gif
*.gifv
*.gm9
*.gpe
*.gpu
*.gs
*.gz
*.h5
*.ham
*.hex
*.hlp
*.hms
*.hpf
*.hta
*.hta-psh
*.htaccess
*.htm
*.html
*.icd
*.icns
*.ico
*.idx
*.iim
*.img
*.index
*.inf
*.ini
*.ink
*.ins
*.ipa
*.ipf
*.ipk
*.ipsw
*.iqylink
*.isp
*.isu
*.ita
*.izh
*.jar
*.java
*.jpeg
*.jpg
*.js
*.js_be
*.js_le
*.jse
*.jsf
*.json
*.jsp
*.jsx
*.kix
*.ksh
*.kx
*.lck
*.ldb
*.lib
*.link
*.lnk
*.lo
*.lock
*.log
*.loop-vbs
*.ls
*.m3u
*.m4a
*.mac
*.macho
*.mamc
*.manifest
*.mcr
*.md
*.mda
*.mdb
*.mde
*.mdf
*.mdn
*.mdt
*.mel
*.mem
*.meta
*.mgm
*.mhm
*.mht
*.mhtml
*.mid
*.mio
*.mlappinstall
*.mlx
*.mm
*.mobileconfig
*.model
*.moo
*.mpa
*.mpk
*.mpls
*.mrc
*.mrp
*.ms
*.msc
*.msh
*.msh1
*.msh1xml
*.msh2
*.msh2xml
*.mshxml
*.msi
*.msi-nouac
*.msix
*.msl
*.msp
*.mst
*.msu
*.mxe
*.ncl
*.net
*.nexe
*.nrg
*.num
*.nzb.bz2
*.nzb.gz
*.nzbs
*.ocx
*.odt
*.ore
*.ost
*.osx
*.osx-app
*.otm
*.out
*.ova
*.paf
*.pak
*.pb
*.pcd
*.pdb
*.pdf
*.pea
*.perl
*.pex
*.phar
*.php
*.php5
*.pif
*.pkg
*.pl
*.plsc
*.plx
*.png
*.pol
*.pot
*.potm
*.powershell
*.ppam
*.ppkg
*.pps
*.ppsm
*.ppt
*.pptm
*.pptx
*.prc
*.prg
*.ps
*.ps1
*.ps1xml
*.ps2
*.ps2xml
*.psc1
*.psc2
*.psd
*.psd1
*.psh
*.psh-cmd
*.psh-net
*.psh-reflection
*.psm1
*.pst
*.pt
*.pvd
*.pwc
*.pxo
*.py
*.pyc
*.pyd
*.pyo
*.python
*.pyz
*.qit
*.qpx
*.ram
*.raw
*.rb
*.rbf
*.rbx
*.reg
*.resources
*.resx
*.rfs
*.rfu
*.rgs
*.rm
*.rox
*.rpg
*.rpj
*.rpm
*.ruby
*.run
*.rxe
*.s2a
*.sample
*.sapk
*.savedmodel
*.sbs
*.sca
*.scar
*.scb
*.scf
*.scpt
*.scptd
*.scr
*.script
*.sct
*.seed
*.server
*.service
*.sfv
*.sh
*.shb
*.shell
*.shortcut
*.shs
*.shtml
*.sit
*.sitx
*.sk
*.sldm
*.sln
*.smm
*.snap
*.snd
*.spr
*.sql
*.sqx
*.srec
*.ssm
*.sts
*.sub
*.svg
*.swf
*.sys
*.tar
*.tar.gz
*.tbl
*.tbz
*.tcp
*.text
*.tf
*.tgz
*.thm
*.thmx
*.thumb
*.tiapp
*.tif
*.tiff
*.tipa
*.tmp
*.tms
*.toast
*.torrent
*.tpk
*.txt
*.u3p
*.udf
*.upk
*.upx
*.url
*.uvm
*.uw8
*.vb
*.vba
*.vba-exe
*.vba-psh
*.vbapplication
*.vbe
*.vbs
*.vbscript
*.vbscript
*.vcd
*.vdo
*.vexe
*.vhd
*.vhdx
*.vlx
*.vm
*.vmdk
*.vob
*.vocab
*.vpm
*.vxp
*.war
*.wav
*.wbk
*.wcm
*.webm
*.widget
*.wim
*.wiz
*.wma
*.workflow
*.wpk
*.wpl
*.wpm
*.wps
*.ws
*.wsc
*.wsf
*.wsh
*.x86
*.x86_64
*.xaml
*.xap
*.xbap
*.xbe
*.xex
*.xig
*.xla
*.xlam
*.xll
*.xlm
*.xls
*.xlsb
*.xlsm
*.xlsx
*.xlt
*.xltb
*.xltm
*.xlw
*.xml
*.xqt
*.xrt
*.xys
*.xz
*.ygh
*.z
*.zip
*.zipx
*.zl9
*.zoo
*sample.avchd
*sample.avi
*sample.mkv
*sample.mov
*sample.mp4
*sample.webm
*sample.wmv
Trailer.*
This is a very strong list, I mean you have jpeg, PNG and flac on the list.
But yes, .lnk has no legitimate use cases in a torrent.
Might be easier to make a white list.
I was thinking the same 😅
So far Qbit only doesn't have it, but a feature request is open
in other words⋮ only open media files and nothing else:
- mp3
- mp4
- avi
- mov
- mkv
- and some others but these are most common
What would happen if you tried to play the movie (which I assume loads the subs and parses the commands — maybe) on a Mac or a PC running Linux? The article says PowerShell and it mentions Windows dependencies but I'm not sure it requires a Windows system.
I feel like my Macs would ask permission before running the code (Macs ask permission a lot, or straight up say something isn't going to run, you have to go into Settings, Security to make it run). I feel like Linux boxes wouldn't be as susceptible as Windows, either.
I'm not gonna try it because I'm not as sure about restoring a Mac system as I am with Windows. Relatively new to this system.
This is not an issue on Linux or Macs.
Even on windows, if you play the movie (so M2TS with external audio and subs), you would simply get subtitles with the PowerShell code as subtitle text at one point.
They are way over hyping this issue.
Ohhh you definitely want to be running TimeMachine backups in macOS. It's run from the system settings app, and once you connect a freshly formatted drive it will likely suggest that you use that drive.
It backs up your entire system and data, then makes hourly versions, and keeps long-term weeklies. You can restore individual files or rather easily restore the entire backup.
It’s one of the few things apple does really well.
When the CD shortcut is executed, it launches Windows commands that extract and run a malicious PowerShell script embedded in the subtitle file between lines 100 and 103.
This PowerShell script will then extract numerous AES-encrypted data blocks from the subtitles file again to reconstruct five PowerShell scripts that are dropped to 'C:\Users<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Diagnostics.'
The extracted PowerShell scripts act as a malware dropper, performing the following actions on the host:
...
Very interesting. Since I left windows, this isn’t an issue for me but I will be more aware that this can happen now.
Kind of makes me want to install Clam AV just to watch for viruses I wouldn't otherwise know about because I'm using Linux everywhere.
There isn't really anything new to learn here. It's still the same old, don't run an executable to watch a movie. That the code is partly hidden in the srt/jpg is just a minor implementation detail.
She said what now?

So wait, literally all it took was putting command line commands on their own line in a subtitles file? Am I interpreting this right
No/yes. in a text file, there are commands to run, and then made a script to run those commands. They then make the script look like a "double click this to get it to work". Nothing new
Technically speaking it is hidden in a SRT subtitle file, but it's not the like you can execute the SRT file, since it's just text.
If you are downloading pirates movies, it makes sense to not click on on random stuff in the torrent/download that's clearly not a media file.
The whole exploit is based on the user clicking on a .lnk shortcut, which then executes commands found in the subtitle text file.
Which seems strangely over complicated. How does it really help to involve the subtitles file at all?
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