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Macos System Library Coreservices Mrt.app Contents Macos

When it comes to obnoxious apps on Mac, perhaps nothing is more annoying than those that push too hard to users trying to be useful. Israel-based Download Valley, for examples, has built their business around apps like these, creating infamy with a business model that isn’t quite illegal but is highly annoying and feels like it might not be entirely legal. Even when these apps appear useful or unassuming, they start pushing their services to an extent that becomes so obnoxious these apps become less a convenience and more a nuisance.

One Download Valley app that’s been particularly aggressive for Mac users is Genieo, an app that creates a “newspaper-styled homepage” tailored to the user’s search and browsing history that supposedly provides information pertinent to the user on first opening the Mac. This sounds useful, but in practice, this app can become extremely irritating. This app draws a particular ire from Mac users, so this article will both inform about what Genieo is and how it works and provide solutions as to how to remove the program from infected Macs.

Genieo’s Installation Issues

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I'm on macOS Sierra 10.12.6 on MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), 16 GB RAM. Seems like there are reports of MRT using high CPU and how to remove it here. But I'd rather not remove it because it scans for malware.

One of the biggest problems with Genieo is that its installation is often combined with other apps which can include programs which you trust and willingly download, including Adobe updates and other commonly used programs. When these programs are downloaded, unless opted out of, which is not always clearly presented to the user as an option just as the inclusion of Genieo in the download is not always presented clearly to the user, Genieo is automatically downloaded as well.

It also installs features that can be incredibly damaging to users’ internet browsers. This includes an extension called an Omnibar which is added when the user downloads Genieo to Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome. This Omnibar extension manipulates the user’s preferences without their knowledge, automatically opening Genieo instead of the homepage dictated by the user’s preferences.

This allows the app to show particular adds on their pages and create targeted monetisation directed at the users. This means that sponsored ads are directly fed to their users rather than the user preferences which would normally be featured in these targeted ads. While Genieo has received strong negative feedback on their shady usage of these extensions and their installation techniques as far back as 2013, they seem unaffected by the criticism and no changes seem to have been made to their tactics.

How Genieo works

Most recently, the Genieo app has manifested, starting approximately in mid-2018, in a file known as the MRT.app, which appears in anti-malware programs downloaded by Mac users. It may appear as MacOS:BitCoinMiner-AS Trojan, or MacOS:Genieo-FM, following the path /System/Library/CoreServices/MRT.app/Contents/MacOS/MRT, and the affected process is /usr/libexec/xpcproxy.

This suggests that the Genieo app is now becoming imbedded in Apple’s own anti malware tool, meaning it will infect a far larger number of devices and will be far harder to remove from these Mac. There is also the possibility that the malware entity has a cryptocurrency mining feature in order to more effectively diversify the creator of the apps’ monetary rewards from the app.

More plausibly, however, is that this anti malware app is not actually carrying the Genieo virus, but malware programs are instead identifying an error from a prior update to the macOS. This suggests that the anti malware devices are instead mistaking the wrong apps as the Genieo virus, making the virus itself extremely hard to locate and therefore remove from infected devices. This provides an extreme inconvenience to users and exposes potential flaws in the Mac’s malware identification programs.

Genieo, however, also has built into their systems programming which is designed to resist traditional techniques for removal. Deleting the Omnibar extension does not fix the issue and going through the website’s uninstaller file will only create further malfunctions and problems for the users. However, there is a way to remove the Genieo software from the Mac, which requires a specialised and targeted techniques to circumvent Download Valley’s intensely persistent software.

How to Manually Remove Genieo from Mac

While some apps may respond to deletion of the extension or even a resetting of the browser, something which would be effective is done on a Windows computer, the Genieo virus will not respond to these methods. However, this article lays out a manual solution that will remove Genieo from the browser.

  1. Log in as an administrator. This technique will not be effective from a guest or secondary account.
  2. Quit the app. From a more recent Mac update where apps can be found in the dock, right click the image of the app until the options appear, in which case you can press quit. Alternatively, if the app is open, click on the grey bar above the screen which, in bold, will read “Genieo”. This will be right next to the app’s “File” tab. At the bottom of the options shown, there will be one that reads “Quit Genieo”.
  3. Find and delete the file marked launchd.conf. You can find it by searching the file in the Finder app, or by searching for the path at /private/etc/launchd.conf. Do not empty the trash yet after you’ve completed this step. If you cannot find the file, do not delete any of the items listed in step 4 with the .dylib format.
  4. Find the following files, as many of them as you can find, and move them to the trash. You may not be able to find them all, but simply delete as many as you can. Keep the trash full—do not empty it yet.

/Applications/Genieo

/Applications/Uninstall Genieo

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieoinnovation.macextension.plist

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieoinnovation.macextension.client.plist

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.engine.plist

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.genieoinnovation.macextension.client

/usr/lib/libgenkit.dylib

/usr/lib/libgenkitsa.dylib

/usr/lib/libimckit.dylib

/usr/lib/libimckitsa.dylib

  1. Make sure your Mac is backed up and then reboot it by restarting the computer. You can do this either by clicking on the apple symbol in the grey tab and pressing restart, or by simply doing a hard reset by holding down the power button. Once your computer is back on, make sure you log into the administrator account once again.
  2. Delete the file /Library/Frameworks/GenieoExtra.framework. Now you can delete the trash.
  3. Uninstall the Omnibar extension. Here’s how to do so for the aforementioned browser:

Firefox: Find the Tools tab, then click through Add-ons then extension. Remove Omnibar, the option for this is next to the Omnibar name.

/system/library/coreservices/mrt.app/contents/macos/mrt

Safari: On the Safari app, click the Safar tab on the grey bar next to the file button then open preferences. Select the extensions tab and remove Omnibar.

Chrome: Access the Chrome menu then find tools and then extensions. There’s a trash button next to Omnibar which you can now click.

  1. On whichever browser you used, reset the homepage to your original home page of choice. You should now have Genieo removed from your Mac

How to fix an Affected Browser

Resetting Firefox: This reset is relatively simple. Open Firefox then find the help tab, then find “troubleshooting information.” On the main troubleshooting page, you will find a button off to the side labeled “reset Firefox”. Simply click on this button and you are all set.

Resetting Safari: On the grey tab above the screen on the Safari app, click the Safari tab, once again found next to the File tab, and open Preferences once again. Find the tab labelled “Privacy” and then click the button found in the middle of the tab labelled “Remove all website data”. You will then be met with a pop-up screen asking you if you would like to remove the data, simply click “Remove Now”. Alternatively, you could click on the smaller button underneath “Remove all website data” and choose which website data you would like to delete. This may be useful as removing the data may log you out of certain services, but for safety reasons you may want to “remove all” regardless.

Resetting Chrome: Open Chrome for Mac and click on the Chrome tab on the grey bar above the screen, next to the File tab. Click on Preferences, which will open a new tab of Chrome and Google settings. Scroll all the way to the bottom and click “Advanced”, then scroll all the way to the bottom again. From here you will find a button under the ta “Reset settings” marked “restore settings to their original defaults”. Clicking on this button will bring up a popup asking if you would like to restore settings. Click “Restore” and the reset is complete.

Alternative Freshmac Removal Method

There is another method of removing Genieo which involves a specifically designed cleaner for your Mac, an application called Freshmac. This will clean your Mac of unnecessary applications and malware and keeps your privacy settings protected and your storage at as maximum capacity as possible.

  1. Download the installer, which you can find rather easily by searching for the application in your web browser, then download the file to start the installation. Press continue and enter your password in order to install the application.
  2. Once the app is installed, it will start a scan automatically.
  3. The completed scan will offer a report of problems found on your Mac, which you can resolve by pressing the “Fix Safely” button found at the top of the screen.
  4. Check whether or not Genieo has been removed. If it hasn’t, go to the Uninstaller tab on Freshmac, find an application you think may be harbouring the virus, and fix that safely to uninstall the application manually.
  5. On the Temp and Startup App tabs on Freshmac, you can also delete repetitive items or any other apps you may be worried about, and this should fix the issue.

Conclusion

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The Genieo malware may be incredibly annoying, but that does not mean it is unfixable. While this app is incredibly persistent and difficult to remove, there are in fact several ways to uninstall the malware.

Make no mistake, while this application might not be explicitly illegal, the Download Valley creators have no interest in catering to the interests of their users and have consistently ignored negative press, making this application as difficult to use and remove as possible.

As this is the case, it is important to familiarize yourself with the methods of removal and resetting the browsers so you can continue to keep your Mac device as safe as possible.

14 total Zoom Vulnerably / Exploit variants and a RCE Remote Code Execution found!

Just when you had enough of the first Zoom Vulnerably, Apple released MRTConfigData 1.46 (now 1.47!) to deal with 14 total variants and a Remote Code Execution (RCE) . I created this Index of MRT Links & Info to help you get through the confusion.

Jonathan Leitschuh reported the first vulnerably in Zoom. I wrote an article talking about this and how to remediate the RCE and Conferencing Video Bug here.

UPDATED: 07/18/19 – MRTConfigData 1.47 released and 3 more Zoom variants! Brings the total to 14.

MRT Malware Removal Tool Index

  • 1. List of zoom opener variants and MRT versions
  • 2. MRTConfigData Compatible OS versions.
  • 3. Software Update & MRT Commands
  • 4. Malware Removal Tool Documentation
  • 5. Caveats of installing MRTConfigData and how the MRT scan works differently in 10.14 vs 10.13
  • 6. Other ways to install MRT updates
  • 7. Digging into the MRT Binary
  • 8. More questions, Problems and Errors
  • 9. Links to scripts and other MacAdmin articles
  • 10. Disclaimer

1. List zoom opener variants and MRT Versions

How do we even know which variants are included in MRTConfigData v1.45 and v1.46? (Now 1.47!) The only way to find out is to dig into the MRT Binary Code. I talk about how I found the new variants a little more in section 7 below.

We now have 14 new Zoom Opener variants to worry about. Each one is a hidden folder listed in your user folder!

MRT Versions

  • 1. MRTConfigData v1.45 – 7/10/19
  • 2. MRTConfigData v1.46 – 7/16/19
  • 3. MRTCOnfigData v1.47 -7/18/19

Zoom Variants

  • 1. /.zoomus – 1.45
  • 2. /.ringcentralopener – 1.46
  • 3. /.telusmeetingsopener– 1.46
  • 4. /.btcloudphonemeetingsopener– 1.46
  • 5. /.officesuitehdmeetingopener– 1.46
  • 6. /.attvideomeetingsopener– 1.46
  • 7. /.bizconfopener– 1.46
  • 8. /.huihuiopener – 1.46
  • 9. /.umeetingopener– 1.46
  • 10./.zhumuopener– 1.46
  • 11./.zoomcnopener– 1.46
  • 12./.earthlinkmeetingroomopener – 1.47
  • 13./.videoconferenciatelmexopener – 1.47
  • 14./.accessionmeetingopener – 1.47

2. MRTConfigData Compatible OS versions.

You can run the MRTConfigData update on the following macOS versions.

  • Mojave 10.14
  • High Sierra 10.13
  • Sierra 10.12
  • El Capitan 10.11 (Note: You can only usesoftwareupdate -ia --backgroundas the --include-config-dataoption was new in Sierra 10.12)

3. Software Update & MRT Commands

Let’s get right to it, here are the commands again if you want to remediate right now!

  • 1. Check for config data updates:/usr/sbin/softwareupdate -l --include-config-data
  • 2. Manual Install of MRT v1.47:/usr/sbin/softwareupdate -i MRTConfigData_10_14-1.47 --include-config-data
  • 3. Verify Version of MRT:/usr/bin/defaults read /System/Library/CoreServices/MRT.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionString
  • 4. Force Run MRT.app in Agent mode:/System/Library/CoreServices/MRT.app/Contents/MacOS/MRT -a

If MRT finds Zoom the manual scan will look like this.

4. Malware Removal Tool Documentation

Apple has not documented how the MRT Scan works. The MRT Tool is called out with just a few lines in the macOS Security Overview for IT.

Apple refers to MRT updates as “Silent or Quiet Update” when referenced in the media. The MRT Binary doesn’t have a MAN page or a -help section. Targeted malware variants are not documented. Sounds like a job for #MacAdmins!!!

5. Caveats of installing MRTConfigData and how the MRT scan works differently in 10.14 vs 10.13

Macos System Library Core Services Mrt.app Contents Macos 7

You need to know about a few caveats with this process. I have tested the installation and scan multiple times and found differences in each OS! Let’s start with Mojave 10.14 then move to High Sierra 10.13.

MRT in Mojave 10.14.5

  • When you manually install the MRTConfigData update the MRT.app will automatically run a MRT Scan!
  • You only have to worry about other users who may have installed any of the opener variants as the MRT Scan only runs for the logged in user only.
  • A restart and Logout/Login will kick off a manual MRT Scan.
  • You can run a script that Rich wrote that will remove zoom from all logged in users.

MRT in High Sierra 10.13.6

  • A reboot will kick of a MRT Scan
  • A logout and login will kick off an MRT Scan
  • When you manually install the MRTConfigData update the MRT Scan will NOT run automatically!!!
  • You will need to run the MRT.app agent scan manually to remove any zoom variants.

TLDR: Installing MRTConfigData in 10.14 automatically kicks off the MRT.app scan, while in 10.13 the MRT scan does NOT run automatically.

H/T to @howardnoakley and @alvarnell for pointing out that after installing MRTConfigData the MRT Scan kicks off automatically. I did not know it at the time but they were testing in 10.14. All my testing was on 10.13, so thats why I was getting different results!

6. Other ways to install MRT updates

If you are on Mojave 10.14.5 you will automatically get the MRTConfigData update as long as you have the following SoftwareUpdate Settings set to ON.

As long as you have these settings set to ON your Mac should automatically check in for new updates and install them every 24 hours.

For the com.appleSoftwareUpdate.plist file you need the following settings set to ON.

Macos System Library Coreservices Mrt.app Contents Macos

/Library/Preferences/com.appleSoftwareUpdate.plist

  • AutomaticCheckEnabled = 1
  • AutomaticDownload = 1
  • ConfigDataInstall = 1
  • CriticalUpdateInstall = 1

If you want to install all background updates now without waiting you can issue the following command.

sudo softwareupdate --background --include-config – Only background updates

or

sudo softwareupdate -ia --include-config-data – Background updates AND OS level Updates

NOTE! The -ia option will install ALLavailable software updates including Combo, Safari and Security Updates.

The above commands will only install Xprotect updates if you have all the automatic software update settings set to ON.

7. Digging into the MRT Binary

Apple does not list the targeted malware variants anywhere, so the only way to find them is to dig into the MRT Binary Code. You cant just open the code inside MRT as it has thousands of lines of code. You have to first compare the current version to the old one. This will give you the first clues, as each piece of malware is given a code. In this case it was MACOS.354c063.

Now that we have the Malware Family ID we can then search the MRT Binary using a disassembler application. A disassembler like Hopper is used to view the actual code of the new MRT binary.

8. More questions, Problems and Errors

System/library/coreservices/mrt.app/contents/macos/mrt

We still have questions about how the MRT works especially the MRT -d or daemon mode. I have even reached out to Apple for an answer on this.

Howard Oakley wrote a great article looking into this.

This is the best information we have so far.

Problems and Errors

Trying to run a manual update and scan can cause some problems in certain situations.

  • 1. Running /usr/sbin/softwareupdate -i MRTConfigData_10_14-1.47 --include-config-data shows

If this happens run /usr/sbin/softwareupdate -l --include-config-data first.

  • 2. Running the MRT Scan from a script shows

MRT ScanfailedToReceiveProfileList

You will need to run MRT in 10.14 as the logged in user.

9. Links to scripts and other MacAdmin articles

  • CVE-Numbers
  • DOS Vulnerability — Fixed in Client version 4.4.2 — CVE-2019–13449
  • Information Disclosure (Webcam) — Zoom —CVE-2019–13450
  • The Zoom Client before 4.4.53932.0709 on macOS allows RCE remote code execution – CVE-2019-13567
  • Apple.com – About background updates in macOS Mojave Your Mac automatically installs background updates for the security configuration and data files used by macOS. – support.apple.com/en-us/HT207005
  • Apple.com – macOS Security Overview for IT – 2018 – apple.com/business/resources/docs/macOS_Security_Overview.pdf
  • Jonathan Leitschuh – twitter.com/jlleitschuh – Medium.com – A vulnerability in the Mac Zoom Client allows any malicious website to enable your camera without your permission. The flaw potentially exposes up to 750,000 companies around the world that use Zoom to conduct day-to-day business. – medium.com/bugbountywriteup/zoom-zero-day-4-million-webcams-maybe-an-rce-just-get-them-to-visit-your-website-ac75c83f4ef5
  • Howard Oakley – twitter.com/howardnoakley – eclecticlight.co – Howard really dug into this when it first came out writing multiple articles on the zoom exploit. He also has multiple applications that he wrote that will help you, including one called SilentKnight that will tell you if all your XProtect definitions are up to date.
  • Rich Trouton – twitter.com/rtrouton – derflounder.wordpress.com – Rich has written the best script yet to remediate the Zoom venerability on all user accounts.

/system/library/coreservices/mrt.app

  • Karan Lyons – twitter.com/karanlyons – Github
  • Fix for Zoom, RingCentral, Zhumu (and possibly more) RCE vulnerabilities – gist.github.com/karanlyons/1fde1c63bd7bb809b04323be3f519f7e
  • Assetnote.io – Deep dive on how the RCE and Zoom exploit works. blog.assetnote.io/bug-bounty/2019/07/17/rce-on-zoom/

Macos System Library Core Services Mrt.app Contents Macos X

  • Jamf Nation Discussion Forum – Zoom Exploit – jamf.com/jamf-nation/discussions/32561/zoom-exploit
  • My article on the Zoom Exploit – mrmacintosh.com/how-to-remediate-the-zoom-vulnerability-with-apple-malware-removal-tool

Macos System Library Core Services Mrt.app Contents Macos 10

  • TheVerge.com – theverge.com/2019/7/8/20687014/zoom-security-flaw-video-conference-websites-hijack-mac-cameras
  • Blue Jeans Response – support.bluejeans.com/s/article/BlueJeans-Detector-Service
  • Macadmins.slack.com – You can also talk about the Zoom Vulnerability and join the #zoom channel or #security in MacAdmins Slack.

10. Disclaimer

I tried to test and research as much as possible to save you time. I hope this Index of MRT Links & Info helps you, but since this issue revolves around security please double check and test before you deploy. After deployment check again that the files inside the opener are in fact deleted.

Index of MRT Links & Info