ToxicPanda 2.0 widens Android banking attack reach

ToxicPanda 2.0 has emerged as a substantially upgraded Android banking Trojan capable of stealing PINs, harvesting financial credentials and remotely manipulating compromised smartphones, extending its potential targets to hundreds of banking, payment and cryptocurrency applications worldwide.

The malware now carries a dedicated PIN-harvesting mechanism aimed at more than 140 banking and cryptocurrency applications. Its wider phishing system can deploy credential-stealing overlays against 349 banking, financial, e-wallet and cryptocurrency applications across 16 countries, marking a sharp expansion from earlier versions that focused on a much smaller group of financial services.

One of the most significant additions is an invisible overlay that can be placed over legitimate applications. Victims continue interacting with what appears to be their normal banking or cryptocurrency interface, while the malware captures touches and PIN entries without displaying an obvious fraudulent screen.

ToxicPanda 2.0 can also retrieve specially prepared HTML phishing pages from its command-and-control infrastructure when a targeted application is opened. The fake interface is positioned above the legitimate application and is designed to capture usernames, passwords and other authentication information before transmitting the data to attackers.

The Trojan has expanded its remote-control framework to 167 commands, giving operators considerably greater authority over infected devices. These functions include launching applications, manipulating screens, executing gestures, gathering information and altering device settings. The broader command set moves ToxicPanda further towards a remote-access platform designed for on-device fraud rather than conventional credential theft alone.

Android Accessibility Services remain central to the operation. Once victims are persuaded to grant accessibility permissions, the malware can monitor interface elements, simulate clicks, execute gestures and interfere with security settings. Accessibility capabilities intended to assist users with disabilities have become an important target for banking malware because they can provide extensive visibility and control when misused.

ToxicPanda 2.0 has added an automated method for enabling Android’s Wireless Debugging function and abusing Android Debug Bridge. The malware can navigate through settings using accessibility-driven clicks, activate developer-related options and establish deeper access to the compromised handset. Successful exploitation can provide shell-level capabilities that would normally be unavailable to an ordinary application.

The technique raises the potential impact of an infection because attackers are no longer restricted to stealing credentials displayed inside financial applications. Greater device privileges can help them maintain control, manipulate security settings and prepare the handset for fraudulent transactions performed from the victim’s own environment.

Another capability targets the smartphone’s lock-screen credentials. ToxicPanda can display a fraudulent lock interface that captures the user’s PIN or password. Operators can also manipulate local screen-lock settings, potentially replacing an existing credential with one chosen by the attacker and making recovery of the compromised device more difficult.

The malware establishes communication with its command-and-control infrastructure through an initial HTTPS connection before creating a bidirectional WebSocket channel. That connection allows attackers to issue commands and receive information from compromised devices with low latency, supporting interactive fraud operations rather than relying solely on automated data theft.

Full-screen overlays resembling system-update messages can conceal malicious actions occurring in the background. The malware can keep victims occupied with what appears to be a normal Android process while operators modify settings or prepare other functions.

Distribution tactics have also changed. Samples have been delivered through infrastructure hosted on Amazon Web Services storage buckets, illustrating how attackers can exploit widely trusted cloud platforms to distribute malicious Android installation packages. Cloud hosting can provide reliable infrastructure while making suspicious download links appear less obviously connected to criminal servers.

The malware generally depends on sideloading rather than installation through the official Google Play ecosystem. Victims must therefore be persuaded to obtain an Android package from another source and approve installation and permissions. Fake applications, familiar branding and social-engineering techniques can make that process appear legitimate.

ToxicPanda was first closely documented as a distinct banking-malware operation in 2024 after researchers identified similarities with TgToxic, a malware family associated with Chinese-speaking operators. The earlier campaign compromised more than 1,500 Android devices and was heavily concentrated in Italy, followed by Portugal, Spain and other markets. Its operators were primarily pursuing account takeover and on-device fraud.

That generation was comparatively unfinished, containing numerous inactive or partially implemented commands. ToxicPanda 2.0 fills several of those gaps while adding new mechanisms for privilege escalation, persistence and credential interception, suggesting continued development of the underlying codebase.