MatrixPDF Campaign Evades Gmail Filters to Deliver Malicious Payloads

Cybercriminals are turning a trusted file format against users in a sophisticated new attack campaign. MatrixPDF represents a concerning evolution in social engineering attacks that split malicious activities across multiple platforms to evade detection.

PDF files have become the perfect trojan horse for cybercriminals. They slip through email security filters undetected, render inline within Gmail’s interface, and recipients open them without hesitation due to their trusted nature.

MatrixPDF exploits this inherent trust by transforming legitimate PDF documents into sophisticated phishing and malware delivery mechanisms.

MatrixPDF, a malicious toolkit discovered on cybercrime networks, weaponizes ordinary PDF files to bypass email security filters and deliver malware payloads to unsuspecting Gmail users.

The toolkit allows attackers to load genuine PDF files and augment them with malicious features including fake security prompts, embedded JavaScript actions, content blurring overlays, and external redirects.

To recipients, these files appear completely routine, yet a ...