Info Stealer

Formbook

First seen: 2016-01 • Status: active

Currently Active Threat

Formbook is a popular password-stealing malware that's been around since 2016. It watches everything you type into website forms - login pages, checkout pages, anything. It rebranded as 'XLoader' and now works on both Windows and Mac. It's cheap and easy to use, so lots of criminals rely on it.

Overview

Formbook is a commodity infostealer malware that has been sold on hacking forums since 2016. It is known for its form-grabbing capabilities, keylogging, and ability to steal data from web browsers. The malware rebranded as XLoader in 2020 and expanded to target macOS systems.

Also Known As

FormBook, XLoader

How It Spreads

  • Phishing emails with malicious attachments
  • Fake software installers
  • Malicious Office documents
  • Compressed archives (ZIP, RAR, ISO)
  • PDF files with embedded links

What It Does

  • Captures data from web forms (form grabbing)
  • Logs all keystrokes
  • Takes screenshots
  • Steals clipboard contents
  • Harvests credentials from browsers
  • Downloads additional payloads

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Target Platforms

Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows 11, macOS

Detection Tips

  • Monitor for browser process injection
  • Detect form-grabbing hooks in web browser processes
  • Alert on unusual HTTP POST traffic patterns
  • Watch for process hollowing techniques
  • Monitor for clipboard monitoring behavior

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

T1056.001, T1056.002, T1113, T1555, T1105

If You're Infected

  1. 1.

    Isolate infected system from network

  2. 2.

    Reset all passwords entered on the infected system

  3. 3.

    Cancel and replace any credit cards used on infected machine

  4. 4.

    Enable 2FA on all important accounts

  5. 5.

    Run full system scan with updated antivirus

  6. 6.

    Mac users: check for XLoader variant specifically

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