MalwarePublished 2 Dec 2025

Chrome, Edge Extensions Caught Tracking Users, Creating Backdoors

Source SecurityWeek

Description

The extensions were seen profiling users, reading cookie data to create unique identifiers, and executing payloads with browser API access. The post Chrome, Edge Extensions Caught Tracking Users, Creating Backdoors appeared first on SecurityWeek .

Impact

For European organizations, this threat can lead to significant privacy breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive information. The profiling and cookie data extraction can compromise user confidentiality, potentially exposing personal data protected under GDPR. The creation of backdoors within browsers can facilitate further attacks such as credential theft, session hijacking, or lateral movement within corporate networks. This can undermine trust in digital services and lead to regulatory penalties if personal data is mishandled. The impact is heightened for sectors relying heavily on web applications and browser-based workflows, including finance, healthcare, and government agencies. Additionally, the presence of such extensions can complicate incident response and forensic investigations due to stealthy backdoor capabilities. The medium severity suggests that while the threat is serious, it requires user installation or presence of the malicious extensions, limiting its scope compared to network-level exploits.

Defensive guidance

European organizations should implement strict browser extension management policies, including whitelisting approved extensions and blocking all others. Regular audits of installed extensions on corporate devices are essential to detect and remove suspicious add-ons. Employ enterprise browser management tools to enforce extension permissions and prevent installation from untrusted sources. Educate users about the risks of installing extensions from unofficial or unverified publishers. Monitor network traffic and browser behavior for signs of unusual activity that may indicate backdoor operations. Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of identifying malicious browser processes and API calls. Additionally, consider deploying browser isolation technologies to limit the impact of potentially malicious extensions. Finally, ensure compliance with data protection regulations by promptly addressing any detected data leakage incidents.

References

securityweek.com/chrome-edge-extensions-caught-tracking-users-creating-backdoors/ (opens in a new tab)

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Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 2 Dec 2025, 13:58 UTC

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