Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics, indicators of compromise, and discussing how our customers are automatically protected from these threats.
As a reminder, the information provided for the following threats in this post is non-exhaustive and current as of the date of publication. Additionally, please keep in mind that IOC searching is only one part of threat hunting. Spotting a single IOC does not necessarily indicate maliciousness. Detection and coverage for the following threats is subject to updates, pending additional threat or vulnerability analysis. For the most current information, please refer to your Firepower Management Center, Snort.org, or ClamAV.net.
For each threat described below, this blog post only lists 25 of the associated file hashes and up to 25 IOCs for each category. An accompanying JSON file can be found here that includes the complete list of file hashes, as well as all other IOCs from this post. A visual depiction of the MITRE ATT&CK techniques associated with each threat is also shown. In these images, the brightness of the technique indicates how prevalent it is across all threat files where dynamic analysis was conducted. There are five distinct shades that are used, with the darkest indicating that no files exhibited technique behavior and the brightest indicating that technique behavior was observed from 75 percent or more of the files.
The most prevalent threats highlighted in this roundup are:
Threat Name
Type
Description
Win.Packed.Ponystealer-9793711-1
Packed
Ponystealer is known to steal credentials from more 100 different applications and may also install other malware such as a remote access trojan (RAT).
Win.Packed.Ursnif-9793771-1
Packed
Ursnif is used to steal sensitive information from an infected host and can also act as a malware downloader. It is commonly spread through malicious emails or exploit kits.
Win.Dropper.NetWire-9791538-0
Dropper
NetWire is a RAT that allows attackers to execute commands on the infected host, log keystrokes, interact with a webcam, remote desktop, and read data from connected USB devices. NetWire is commonly delivered through Microsoft Office documents with macros, sent as attachments on malicious emails.
Win.Packed.Ruskill-9791575-1
Packed
Ruskill, also known as Dorkbot, is a botnet client aimed at stealing credentials and facilitating distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. It spreads via removable media and through instant messaging applications.
Win.Malware.Trickbot-9791619-0
Malware
Trickbot is a banking trojan targeting sensitive information for certain financial institutions. This malware is frequently distributed through malicious spam campaigns. Many of these campaigns rely on downloaders for distribution, such as VB scripts.
Win.Dropper.Lokibot-9791657-0
Dropper
Lokibot is an information-stealing malware designed to siphon off sensitive information stored on an infected device. It is modular in nature, supporting the ability to steal sensitive information from a number of popular applications. It is commonly pushed via malicious documents delivered via spam emails.
Win.Dropper.TinyBanker-9791753-0
Dropper
TinyBanker, also known as Zusy or Tinba, is a trojan that uses man-in-the-middle attacks to steal banking information. When executed, it injects itself into legitimate Windows processes such as "explorer.exe" and "winver.exe." When the user accesses a banking website, it displays a form to trick the user into submitting personal information.
Win.Dropper.Kuluoz-9791754-0
Dropper
Kuluoz, sometimes known as "Asprox," is a modular remote access trojan that is also known to download and execute follow-on malware, such as fake antivirus software. Kuluoz is often delivered via spam emails pretending to be shipment delivery notifications or flight booking confirmations.
Threat Breakdown
Win.Packed.Ponystealer-9793711-1
Indicators of Compromise
IOCs collected from dynamic analysis of 17 samples
IP Addresses contacted by malware. Does not indicate maliciousness
Occurrences
23[.]227[.]38[.]65
14
Domain Names contacted by malware. Does not indicate maliciousness
Cisco AMP for Endpoints protects users from a variety of malware functions with exploit prevention. Exploit prevention helps users defend endpoints from memory attacks commonly used by obfuscated malware and exploits. These exploits use certain features to bypass typical anti-virus software, but were blocked by AMP thanks to its advanced scanning capabilities, even protecting against zero-day vulnerabilities.
Dealply adware detected - (6479)
DealPly is adware, which claims to improve your online shopping experience. It is often bundled into other legitimate installers and is difficult to uninstall. It creates pop-up advertisements and injects advertisements on webpages. Adware has also been known to download and install malware.
Process hollowing detected - (2465)
Process hollowing is a technique used by some programs to avoid static analysis. In typical usage, a process is started and its obfuscated or encrypted contents are unpacked into memory. The parent then manually sets up the first stages of launching a child process, but before launching it, the memory is cleared and filled in with the memory from the parent instead.
CVE-2019-0708 detected - (2213)
An attempt to exploit CVE-2019-0708 has been detected. The vulnerability, dubbed BlueKeep, is a heap memory corruption which can be triggered by sending a specially crafted Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) request. Since this vulnerability can be triggered without authentication and allows remote code execution, it can be used by worms to spread automatically without human interaction.
Smoke Loader detected - (1739)
Smoke Loader has been detected. Smokeloader is used mainly to execute other malicious software, like ransomware or cryptocurrency miners. Its initial infection vector is usually an email with a malicious Microsoft Word document or delivered through an exploit kit. Smokeloader uses various plugins designed to steal data from its victims, particularly credentials stored on the system or transfered over HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, POP3 or IMAP.
Certutil.exe is downloading a file - (1073)
The certutil.exe utility has been detected downloading and executing a file. Upon execution, the downloaded file behaved suspiciously. The normal usage of certutil.exe involves retrieving certificate information. Attackers can use this utility to download additional malicious payloads.
Crystalbit-Apple DLL double hijack was detected. During this attack, the adversary abuses two legitimate vendor applications, such as CrystalBit and Apple, as part of a dll double hijack attack chain that starts with a fraudulent software bundle and eventually leads to a persistent miner and in some cases spyware deployment.
Installcore adware detected - (779)
Install core is an installer which bundles legitimate applications with offers for additional third-party applications that may be unwanted. The unwanted applications are often adware that display advertising in the form of popups or by injecting into browsers and adding or altering advertisements on webpages. Adware is known to sometimes download and install malware.
Kovter injection detected - (617)
A process was injected into, most likely by an existing Kovter infection. Kovter is a click fraud Trojan that can also act as an information stealer. Kovter is also file-less malware meaning the malicious DLL is stored inside Windows registry and injected directly into memory using PowerShell. It can detect and report the usage of monitoring software such as wireshark and sandboxes to its C2. It spreads through malicious advertising and spam campaigns.
Excessively long PowerShell command detected - (513)
A PowerShell command with a very long command line argument that may indicate an obfuscated script has been detected. PowerShell is an extensible Windows scripting language present on all versions of Windows. Malware authors use PowerShell in an attempt to evade security software or other monitoring that is not tuned to detect PowerShell based threats.
An attempt to bypass application whitelisting via the "Squiblydoo" technique has been detected. This typically involves using regsvr32.exe to execute script content hosted on an attacker controlled server.
