The Windows version of the Hola Browser has been compromised in a supply chain attack that delivered an undeclared executable identified by researchers as a cryptocurrency miner.
The compromise was uncovered during periodic certification checks on Hola Browser as part of its AppEsteem certification testing procedure, which it had previously passed.
Hola is an Israeli company best known for Hola VPN, a service that allows users to route internet traffic through other users’ devices or through paid proxy infrastructure to bypass geographic restrictions and access content from different countries.
Hola Browser is based on Chromium and integrates VPN and proxy functionality directly into the browser.
The company and its products have attracted controversy in the past due to opaque traffic-handling practices related to the operation of a commercial service called Luminati Networks, which turned free users into proxies.
In the latest app integrity checks, Sophos and other cybersecurity companies involved in the evaluation process discovered an undeclared executable named ‘me.exe’ being installed in some cases under C:\Program Files\Hola\.
The file had not been certified, had no timestamp, wasn’t digitally signed, contained obfuscated code, and could write to memory.
On closer examination, Sophos found signs that the binary was a Monero cryptocurrency miner, including strings pointing to its true nature.
The miner adds a Windows Defender exclusion rule, copies itself to Program Files as ‘HolaMonitorService.exe,’ creates an auto-starting Windows service named ‘hola_monitor_svc,’ and runs when the computer is idle.
Holas’s response
Hola was informed of the findings by AppEsteem and confirmed that they had suffered a supply chain compromise, which was also independently detected by cybersecurity firm Sygnia.
Despite that, the software vendor says that only about 0.1% of its users were affected, and there’s no evidence of user data access, theft, or compromise.
“We have since completely rebuilt our distribution pipeline, implemented advanced code-signing verification, and introduced tighter access controls and continuous monitoring across our infrastructure,” assured Hola’s CEO, Avi Raz Cohen.
“These measures are designed to ensure that only declared, certified, and signed components are ever delivered to our users.”
BleepingComputer has contacted Hola to request more information about how the breach occurred, who the perpetrators are, and whether clients on other platforms were also affected, but we have not heard back as of this publishing.
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