27-August-2024
Welcome to the weekly threat detection update report from Stamus Networks. Each week, you will receive this email with a summary of the updates.
Current Stamus Threat Intelligence (STI) release version: 1132
This week, in addition to daily ruleset and IOC updates, we provided Stamus Security Platform customers with the following improved defense(s):
Note: a "method" as referenced below, is a discrete detection vector for a given threat.
The following detections were added to your Stamus Security Platform (SSP) this past week:
The stealer is completely written in PHP. This fact requires the victim machine to be able to execute PHP code, which is not the usual case. Therefore, the malware is packaged into an executable using a commercially available third-party software called ‘ExeOutputʼ. The malware is additionally virtualized using a commercially available software called BoxedApp. Gdatasoftware
Since mid-2023, Mandiant Managed Defense has responded to a surge in malware infections originating from malvertising campaigns. These attacks are opportunistic in nature, targeting users seeking popular business software. The infection utilizes a trojanized MSIX installer, which executes a PowerShell script to download a secondary payload. Mandiant tracks this PowerShell script as NUMOZYLOD and attributes its distribution to UNC4536, a threat actor operating under the moniker "eugenfest." The actor is part of a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) operation, distributing malware such as ICEDID, REDLINESTEALER, CARBANAK, LUMMASTEALER, or ARECHCLIENT2. Google
NUMOZYLOD - Malpedia |
OldGremlin is a Russian-speaking ransomware group that has been active for several years. They primarily target organizations in Russia, including banks, logistics, industrial, insurance, retail, and IT companies. OldGremlin is known for using phishing emails as an initial infection vector and has developed custom malware for both Windows and Linux systems. They have conducted multiple malicious email campaigns and demand large ransoms from their victims, with some reaching millions of dollars. Malpedia
The following detections were updated this past week with changes to kill chain phase(s) or MITRE ATT&CK tactic(s)/technique(s):
Backdoors are designed to give malicious users remote control over an infected computer. In terms of functionality, Backdoors are similar to many administration systems designed and distributed by software developers.
These types of malicious programs make it possible to do anything the author wants on the infected computer: send and receive files, launch files or delete them, display messages, delete data, reboot the computer, etc.
The programs in this category are often used in order to unite a group of victim computers and form a botnet or zombie network. This gives malicious users centralized control over an army of infected computers which can then be used for criminal purposes.
There is also a group of Backdoors which are capable of spreading via networks and infecting other computers as Net-Worms do. The difference is that such Backdoors do not spread automatically (as Net-Worms do), but only upon a special “command” from the malicious user that controls them. Kaspersky
An estimated one million WordPress websites have been compromised during a long-lasting campaign that exploits "all known and recently discovered theme and plugin vulnerabilities" to inject a Linux backdoor that researchers named Balad Injector.
The campaign has been running since 2017 and aims mostly to redirect to fake tech support pages, fraudulent lottery wins, and push notification scams. Bleepingcomputer
There are several malicious fake updates campaigns being run across thousands of compromised websites. This campaign appears to have started around July 19th, 2023. Based on a search on PublicWWW of the injection base64 there are at least 434 infected sites. The name is a reference to the majority of the Javascript being used without obfuscation. One noticeable difference from SocGholish is that there appears to be no tracking of visits by IP or cookies. As an analyst you can you go back to the compromised site over and over coming from the same IP and not clearing your browser cache. This also means the site owner is more likely to see the infection as well. When a user visits a compromised website with ClearFake, the page initially loads as normal before the whole page is taken over by a call to action to update Chrome.
On the index page of the compromised site there is a Javascript injection. The Javascript is base64 encoded. Presumably this is a dynamic injection and will change over time to reflect the new host for the initial payload. On the index page of the compromised site there is a Javascript injection. The Javascript is base64 encoded. Presumably this is a dynamic injection and will change over time to reflect the new host for the initial payload. The second web call returns a Javascript that creates an iframe to house the fake update UI. The iframe src is set to a Keitaro endpoint. The response from the Keitaro endpoint is the foundation for the HTML to be rendered within the iframe.
Cobalt Strike is a commercial, full-featured, penetration testing tool which bills itself as “adversary simulation software designed to execute targeted attacks and emulate the post-exploitation actions of advanced threat actors”. Cobalt Strike’s interactive post-exploit capabilities cover the full range of ATT&CK tactics, all executed within a single, integrated system.
In addition to its own capabilities, Cobalt Strike leverages the capabilities of other well-known tools such as Metasploit and Mimikatz. MITRE
Adversaries may communicate using a custom command and control protocol instead of encapsulating commands/data in an existing Standard Application Layer Protocol. Implementations include mimicking well-known protocols or developing custom protocols (including raw sockets) on top of fundamental protocols provided by TCP/IP/another standard network stack.
Malware actors often try to infect/add specific code to legitimate binaries in an effort to trojanize (generate segment-padded trojans) those binaries and take advantage of allowed executable on the system.
In computing, the Executable and Linkable Format[citation needed] (ELF, formerly named Extensible Linking Format), is a common standard file format for executable files, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps. First published in the specification for the application binary interface (ABI) of the Unix operating system version named System V Release 4 (SVR4), and later in the Tool Interface Standard, it was quickly accepted among different vendors of Unix systems. In 1999, it was chosen as the standard binary file format for Unix and Unix-like systems on x86 processors by the 86open project. Wikipedia
Attackers are utilizing hacked web sites that promote fake browser updates to infect targets with banking trojans. In some cases, post exploitation toolkits are later executed to encrypt the compromised network with ransomware.
Between May and September 2019, FireEye has conducted multiple incident response cases where enterprise customers were infected with malware through fake browser updates.
Hacked sites would display these "fakeupdates" through JavaScript alerts that state the user is using an old version of a web browser and that they should download an offered "update" to keep the browser running "smoothly and securely".
Phishing is a type of online scam that targets consumers by sending them an e-mail that appears to be from a well-known source – an internet service provider, a bank, or a mortgage company, for example. It asks the consumer to provide personal identifying information. Then a scammer uses the information to open new accounts, or invade the consumer’s existing accounts. There are several tips that consumers can follow to avoid phishing scams, such as not responding to e-mails or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information.
Glupteba is a trojan-type program, malicious software that installs other programs of this type. Cyber criminals distribute Glupteba through malicious advertisements that can be injected into legitimate websites or advertising networks. Research shows that Glubteba can be used to distribute a browser stealer or router exploiter. In any case, this malware should be uninstalled immediately. Pcrisk
Malware of this family consists of Trojans that use anti-emulation, anti-debugging, and code obfuscation to prevent their analysis. Kaspersky
There are a handful of fake update variants. The most popular is SocGholish. We’ve often observed some of the other fake update variants referred to as SocGholish, but we try to make the distinction. Some of the other variants include Clear Fake, and Smart Ape. There’s also a new variant that is being referenced as ClickFix. This collaboration between Casey Kuwada, April Bucaneg, and Aaron Samala introduces the LandUpdate808 Fake Update Variant that we’ve been tracking. Malasada
Lumma is an information stealer written in C, sold as a Malware-as-a-Service by LummaC on Russian-speaking underground forums and Telegram since at least August 2022. Lumma's capabilities are those of a classic stealer, with a focus on cryptocurrency wallets, and file grabber capabilities. Malpedia
Remote Access Trojans are programs that provide the capability to allow covert surveillance or the ability to gain unauthorized access to a victim PC. Remote Access Trojans often mimic similar behaviors of keylogger applications by allowing the automated collection of keystrokes, usernames, passwords, screenshots, browser history, emails, chat lots, etc. Remote Access Trojans differ from keyloggers in that they provide the capability for an attacker to gain unauthorized remote access to the victim machine via specially configured communication protocols which are set up upon initial infection of the victim computer. This backdoor into the victim machine can allow an attacker unfettered access, including the ability to monitor user behavior, change computer settings, browse and copy files, utilize the bandwidth (Internet connection) for possible criminal activity, access connected systems, and more. Malwarebytes
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution. PowerShell is a powerful interactive command-line interface and scripting environment included in the Windows operating system. [1] Adversaries can use PowerShell to perform a number of actions, including discovery of information and execution of code. Examples include the Start-Process cmdlet which can be used to run an executable and the Invoke-Command cmdlet which runs a command locally or on a remote computer (though administrator permissions are required to use PowerShell to connect to remote systems). MITRE
Remote Access Trojans are programs that provide the capability to allow covert surveillance or the ability to gain unauthorized access to a victim PC. Remote Access Trojans often mimic similar behaviors of keylogger applications by allowing the automated collection of keystrokes, usernames, passwords, screenshots, browser history, emails, chat lots, etc. Remote Access Trojans differ from keyloggers in that they provide the capability for an attacker to gain unauthorized remote access to the victim machine via specially configured communication protocols which are set up upon initial infection of the victim computer. This backdoor into the victim machine can allow an attacker unfettered access, including the ability to monitor user behavior, change computer settings, browse and copy files, utilize the bandwidth (Internet connection) for possible criminal activity, access connected systems, and more. Malwarebytes
It leverages compromised websites and performs some of the most creative fingerprinting checks we’ve seen, before delivering its payload (NetSupport RAT). Malwarebytes
The term info stealer is self-explanatory. This type of malware resides in an infected computer and gathers data in order to send it to the attacker. Typical targets are credentials used in online banking services, social media sites, emails, or FTP accounts.
Info stealers may use many methods of data acquisition. The most common are:
hooking browsers (and sometimes other applications) and stealing credentials that are typed by the user using web injection scripts that are adding extra fields to web forms and submitting information from them to a server owned by the attacker form grabbing (finding specific opened windows and stealing their content) keylogging stealing passwords saved in the system and cookies Modern info stealers are usually parts of botnets. Sometimes the target of attack and related events are configured remotely by the command sent from the Command and Control server (C&C). Malwarebytes
An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a stealthy computer network threat actor, typically a nation state or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a computer network and remains undetected for an extended period. In recent times, the term may also refer to non-state sponsored groups conducting large-scale targeted intrusions for specific goals.
Such threat actors' motivations are typically political or economic. To date, every major business sector has recorded instances of attacks by advanced actors with specific goals seeking to steal, spy or disrupt. These include government, defense, financial services, legal services, industrial, telecoms, consumer goods, and many more. Some groups utilize traditional espionage vectors, including social engineering, human intelligence and infiltration to gain access to a physical location to enable network attacks. The purpose of these attacks is to place custom malicious code on one or multiple computers for specific tasks.
Source: Wikipedia
An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a stealthy computer network threat actor, typically a nation state or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a computer network and remains undetected for an extended period. In recent times, the term may also refer to non-state sponsored groups conducting large-scale targeted intrusions for specific goals.
Such threat actors' motivations are typically political or economic. To date, every major business sector has recorded instances of attacks by advanced actors with specific goals seeking to steal, spy or disrupt. These include government, defense, financial services, legal services, industrial, telecoms, consumer goods, and many more. Some groups utilize traditional espionage vectors, including social engineering, human intelligence and infiltration to gain access to a physical location to enable network attacks. The purpose of these attacks is to place custom malicious code on one or multiple computers for specific tasks.
Source: Wikipedia
A Trojan downloader is a type of Trojan horse that downloads and installs files, often malicious programs. A Trojan horse is a type of software that looks legitimate but can be malicious in nature. Sometimes these programs can be downloaded onto a device without the user’s knowledge or consent. A Trojan’s purpose is to damage, disrupt, steal, or generally inflict some other harm on your computer and devices. Norton
During a routine threat-hunting exercise, Cyble research labs discovered a dark web post where a malware developer was advertising a powerful Windows RAT. Cyble
The following threat detection(s) were improved this past week with new or updated threat methods.
| Name of threat | New coverage | Total coverage | Last updated | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Detection methods | Kill chain phases | Protocols involved | Detection methods | Kill chain phases | Protocols involved | ||
| Ailurophile | 4 | actions on objectives, command and control | http | 4 | actions on objectives, command and control | http | 2024-08-22 |
| Backdoor | 3 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 468 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, ftp, http, icmp, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls, udp | 2024-08-21 |
| Balada | 6 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 106 | command and control, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-22 |
| ClearFake | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 216 | command and control, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-22 |
| Cobalt Strike | 4 | command and control | http | 583 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation | dns, http, smb, tcp, tls, udp | 2024-08-22 |
| Command and Control | 6 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 530 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-08-24 |
| ELF | 1 | command and control | http | 85 | command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls, udp | 2024-08-24 |
| Fake Browser | 24 | exploitation, command and control | dns, tls, http | 881 | command and control, delivery, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-24 |
| Fake Service | 2 | installation, actions on objectives | http | 114 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2024-08-22 |
| Glupteba | 1 | command and control | tls | 120 | command and control | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2024-08-23 |
| Kryptik | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 94 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-08-22 |
| LandUpdate808 | 1 | delivery | http | 26 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-22 |
| Lumma | 51 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 1604 | actions on objectives, command and control, installation | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-24 |
| NUMOZYLOD | 2 | command and control | http | 2 | command and control | http | 2024-08-22 |
| NetSupport RAT | 2 | command and control | http | 50 | actions on objectives, command and control, exploitation, installation | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-20 |
| Powershell | 5 | delivery, actions on objectives | http | 53 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-08-22 |
| RAT Generic | 2 | command and control | tcp | 145 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls, udp | 2024-08-22 |
| SocGholish | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 1017 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, reconnaissance | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-08-20 |
| Stealer and Exfiltration | 1 | command and control | tcp | 438 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, installation | dns, ftp, http, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-08-22 |
| TA4903 | 33 | delivery | dns, tls, http | 1025 | delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-24 |
| TA582 | 15 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 217 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-08-23 |
| TA801 | 9 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 9 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 2024-08-22 |
| Trojan Downloader | 4 | command and control | http, dns, tls | 331 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tls, udp | 2024-08-22 |
| XWorm | 11 | command and control | tcp-pkt | 1455 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-08-22 |
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Stamus Networks believes in a world where defenders are heroes, and a future where those they protect remain safe. As organizations face threats from well-funded adversaries, we relentlessly pursue solutions that make the defender’s job easier and more impactful. The global leader in Suricata-based network security solutions, Stamus Networks helps enterprise security teams know more, respond sooner and mitigate their risk with insights gathered from cloud and on-premise network activity. Our Stamus Security Platform combines the best of intrusion detection (IDS), network security monitoring (NSM), and network detection and response (NDR) systems into a single solution that exposes serious and imminent threats to critical assets and empowers rapid response.
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