Shadowing Practice: Linux got wrecked by backdoor attack - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Over the last few days, the open -source world has been in panic mode.
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A highly sophisticated and carefully planned attack affecting the XZ compression tool was shipped to production,
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and has compromised Linux distros like Debian, Kali, OpenSUSE, and others.
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Thank God, TempleOS is unaffected though, and it's quite possibly one of the most well -executed supply chain attacks of all time,
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and gives some random dude unfettered access to execute code on your machine via a secret backdoor.
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This is not your everyday security vulnerability.
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It's a threat -level midnight 10 .0 critical issue on the CVE Richter scale, even higher than famous bugs like Heartbleed, Log4Shell, and Shellshock.
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In today's video, you'll learn exactly how the XZ backdoor works, and the incredible story of how it was discovered by accident.
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It is April 1st, 2024, and you're watching the Code Report.
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Unfortunately, this is not an April Fool's video.
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If you happen to be using one of the Linux distros listed here, you'll want to upgrade immediately.
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Luckily, it only affects a very narrow set of distros, most of which are unstable builds, but that's only because this backdoor was discovered by pure luck early on.
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More on that in just a second, let's first take a deep dive into this backdoor.
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XZ -Utils is a tool for compressing and decompressing streams based on the Lempel -Ziv Markov Chain Algorithm, or LZMA.
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It contains a command line tool that's installed on most Linux distros by default, which you can use right now with the XZ command, but also contains an API library called lib -LZMA,
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and many other pieces of software depend on this library to implement compression, One of which is SSHD, or Secure Shell Daemon, a tool that listens to SSH connections,
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like when you connect your local machine to the terminal on a cloud server.
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Now here's where the backdoor comes in, but keep in mind, researchers are still figuring out exactly how this thing works.
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Malicious code was discovered in the tarballs of LibLZMA, which is the thing that most people actually install.
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That malicious code is not present in the source code, though.
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It uses a series of obfuscations to hide the malicious code, then at build time, it injects a pre -built object disguised as a test file that lives in the source code.
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It modifies specific parts of the LZMA code, which ultimately allows the attacker to intercept and modify data that interacts with this library.
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Researchers have also discovered that any payload sent to the backdoor must be signed by the attacker's private key.
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In other words, the attacker is the only one who can send a payload to the backdoor, making it more difficult to test and monitor.
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And the attacker went to great lengths to obfuscate the code, like it contains no ASCII characters and instead has a built -in state machine to recognize important strings.
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Now, because the vast majority of servers that power the internet are Linux -based, this backdoor could have been a major disaster.
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Luckily, though, a hero software engineer named Andres Freund was using the unstable branch of Debian to benchmark Postgres.
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He noticed something weird that most people would overlook.
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SSH logins were using up more CPU resources than normal.
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Initially, he thought it was an issue in Debian directly, but after some investigation, discovered it was actually upstream in exeutils.
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And that's really bad, because so many things depend on this tool.
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In German, his last name translates to friend, which is fitting, because he single -handedly helped the world avoid a multi -billion dollar disaster. But whodunit?
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Who's the bad guy here?
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At this point, it's unclear.
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The LibLZMA project is maintained by Lassie Collin.
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However, the malicious tarballs are signed by Gia Tan, a contributor to the project.
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This individual has been a trusted contributor for the last few years, but clearly, they've been playing the long game.
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They spent years building up trust before trying the backdoor, and nobody even noticed when they made their move.
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I say they because we don't know if this is an individual or a penetration attempt from a rogue state like Russia, North Korea, or the United States.
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Here's a non -technical analogy.
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Imagine there's a landlord, we'll call him Lassie Collin, who manages a popular apartment building.
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It's a lot of work, but this young, enthusiastic guy has been super helpful over the last couple years, adding all sorts of upgrades and renovations.
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Let's call him Gia Tan.
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He does great work, but he's also been secretly installing cameras in the bathrooms, which only he can access from the internet with his password.
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Now, he would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for a pesky tenant named Andres, who happened to notice that his electricity bill was just a little bit higher than usual.
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He started looking behind the walls and found some unexpected wires that led right to the unauthorized cameras.
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At this point, we don't know the true identity of the hacker, but whoever did this was looking to cast a very wide net, and because it's protected by a secret key, can only be exploited by one party.
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XZ was a sitting duck because it's extremely popular, while also being very boring with a single maintainer.
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Whoever's behind this is either an extremely intelligent psychopath, or more likely, a group of state -sponsored dimension -hopping lizard people hellbent on world domination.
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And that's why the only distro you should use is TempleOS.
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This has been The Code Report, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next one.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 51 sentences and 944 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:32. The speaker talks fast, about 209 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- discover /dɪˈskʌvə/ (verb) — To find or learn something for the first time.
- malicious /məˈlɪʃəs/ (adjective) — Intending to do harm; characterized by spite and malice.
- attacker /əˈtækɚ/ (noun) — Someone who attacks.
- server /ˈsɝvɚ/ (noun) — A program that provides services to other programs or devices, either in the same computer or over a computer network.
- disaster /dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ (noun) — An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent…
- upgrade /əpˈɡɹeɪd/ (verb) — To improve, usually applied to technology, generally by complete replacement of one or more components.
- depend /dɪˈpɛnd/ (verb) — To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
- install /ɪnˈstɔl/ (verb) — To connect, set up or prepare something for use
- execute /ˈɛksɪˌkjuːt/ (verb) — To kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
- luckily /ˈlʌk.ɪ.li/ (adverb) — In a lucky manner; by good fortune; fortunately.
- researcher /ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/ (noun) — One who researches.
- unstable /ʌnˈsteɪ.bəl/ (adjective) — Not stable.
- compression /kəmˈpɹɛʃ.ən/ (noun) — An increase in density; the act of compressing, or the state of being compressed; compaction.
- modify /ˈmɑ.dɪˌfaɪ/ (verb) — To change part of.
- contributor /kənˈtɹɪb.jə.tɚ/ (noun) — A benefactor; someone who donates to charity or some cause.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- build up (verb) — To erect; to construct.
- come in /ˌkʌm ˈɪn/ (verb) — To enter.
- figure out (verb) — To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
- get away with (verb) — To get away, or escape, taking (something) with one.
- keep in (verb) — To require a pupil to stay after school as a punishment.
- live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
- use up (verb) — To consume, deplete, expend, or exhaust.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 8 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you'll, they've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: enthusiastic /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/, psychopath /ˈsaɪkəʊpæθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: malicious /məˈlɪʃəs/, compression /kəmˈpɹɛʃ.ən/, dimension /daɪˈmɛn.ʃən/, renovation /ɹɛnəˈveɪʃən/, penetration /pɛ.nəˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: contributor /kənˈtɹɪb.jə.tɚ/, electricity /ɪˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/, intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/, unexpected /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/, enthusiastic /ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪk/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like discover, malicious, attacker.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was shipped · is unaffected · was discovered |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been · has compromised · have also discovered |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | LibLZMA, which is · one who can · friend, which is |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.