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Pre-OS Boot: Bootkit
![Defense Evasion [Mitre] icon](/media/2024/04/08/icons8-burglar.svg){kind=small}
Adversaries may use bootkits to persist on systems. Bootkits reside at a layer below the operating system and may make it difficult to perform full remediation unless an organization suspects one was used and can act accordingly.
A bootkit is a malware variant that modifies the boot sectors of a hard drive, including the Master Boot Record (MBR) and …
Read moreRogue Domain Controller
Adversaries may register a rogue Domain Controller to enable manipulation of Active Directory data. DCShadow may be used to create a rogue Domain Controller (DC). DCShadow is a method of manipulating Active Directory (AD) data, including objects and schemas, by registering (or reusing an inactive registration) and simulating the behavior of a DC. Once registered, a rogue DC may be …
Read moreSystem Binary Proxy Execution: Regsvr32
Adversaries may abuse Regsvr32.exe to proxy execution of malicious code. Regsvr32.exe is a command-line program used to register and unregister object linking and embedding controls, including dynamic link libraries (DLLs), on Windows systems. The Regsvr32.exe binary may also be signed by Microsoft.
Malicious usage of Regsvr32.exe may avoid triggering security tools that may not monitor execution of, and modules …
Read moreSystem Binary Proxy Execution: Mavinject
Adversaries may abuse mavinject.exe to proxy execution of malicious code. Mavinject.exe is the Microsoft Application Virtualization Injector, a Windows utility that can inject code into external processes as part of Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V).
Adversaries may abuse mavinject.exe to inject malicious DLLs into running processes (i.e. Dynamic-link Library Injection), allowing for arbitrary code execution (ex. C:\Windows\system32\mavinject.exe PID /INJECTRUNNING PATH_DLL). …
Read moreValid Accounts: Domain Accounts
Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of a domain account as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion. Domain accounts are those managed by Active Directory Domain Services where access and permissions are configured across systems and services that are part of that domain. Domain accounts can cover users, administrators, and services.
Adversaries may …
Read moreVirtualization/Sandbox Evasion: User Activity Based Checks
Adversaries may employ various user activity checks to detect and avoid virtualization and analysis environments. This may include changing behaviors based on the results of checks for the presence of artifacts indicative of a virtual machine environment (VME) or sandbox. If the adversary detects a VME, they may alter their malware to disengage from the victim or conceal the core …
Read moreDetecting Virtual Environment Artefacts
Malware often checks for artifacts left by virtualization platforms to determine if it is running inside a virtual environment. Detecting such artifacts allows the malware to adapt its behavior, delay execution, or avoid exposing malicious functionality during analysis.
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QEMU: QEMU registers artifacts in the Windows registry. For example, the key
HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\Scsi\Scsi Port 0\Scsi Bus 0\Target Id 0\Logical …
Checking Specific Folder Name
Specific directories, such as "C:\Cuckoo", can serve as indicators of a sandboxed or virtualized environment when present on a guest system. Consequently, a savvy piece of malware could potentially use the detection of this particular directory as a means of evading analysis. This would allow the malicious software to alter its behavior or even halt its execution altogether when it …
Read moreChecking Pipe
Cuckoo is an open-source automated malware analysis system that performs dynamic analysis by running suspicious files in isolated virtual environments.
To facilitate communication between the host system (analysis environment) and the guest system (execution environment), Cuckoo uses a named pipe: \.\pipe\cuckoo
Detection Technique
Malware running inside the guest can check for the existence of this named pipe. …
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