Detecting Online Sandbox

Created the Wednesday 10 March 2021. Updated 2 weeks, 4 days ago.

Online sandboxes are widely used for malware analysis. To evade detection, many malware families implement checks to identify if they are running in such environments. Below are examples of detection techniques for Any.Run and Tria.ge.

Detecting Any.Run

Any.Run uses a fake root certificate to spy on sandbox traffic. System information can be obtained by querying the root certificate.
The QEMU Agent is modified and used to monitor applications in the virtual machine, allowing API hooking and process monitoring. If a process such as srvpost.exe is running and the libraries winanr.dll or winsanr.dll are loaded, this indicates the Any.Run agent.
Any.Run applies time restrictions depending on the subscription package. For example, the Searcher package allows 5 minutes of analysis (extendable to 10 minutes in interactive mode). The agent’s sechost.dll manages and transmits these timing metrics. If this thread is suspended, Any.Run stops counting time, and the analysis continues until timeout.

Detecting Tria.ge

Tria.ge creates a default wallpaper file in the environment. Malware can detect the sandbox by checking for this artifact. If the file exists, the sample is most likely running inside the Tria.ge sandbox.

Technique Identifier

U1338

Technique Tags

Hypervisor virtualization plateforms KVM Microsoft Hv Hyper V VMware VirtualBox QEMU Xen CPU flags sandbox triage tria.ge

Featured Windows API's

Below, you will find a list of the most commonly used Windows API's that are currently utilized by malware authors for current evasion technique. This list is meant to provide an overview of the API's that are commonly used for this purpose. If there are any API's that you feel should be included on this list, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to update the list and provide any additional information or documentation that may be helpful.

Code Snippets

Description

This snippet detects if the process is running in the online sandbox app.any.run.

import subprocess

def executer(args):
    proc = subprocess.Popen(args,stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
    return str(proc.communicate()[0])

cert = executer(["powershell.exe", "-Command","Get-ChildItem","-Recurse","Cert:CurrentUser\My"])
proc = executer(["powershell.exe","Get-Process"])
dlls = executer(["listdlls.exe","srvpost.exe","/accepteula"])

SUSDLLS = ("winanr.dll", "winsanr.dll")
if any(dll in dlls for dll in SUSDLLS): print("Any.Run Monitoring Agent Found")

if "Some Company" in cert or "srvpost" in proc:
    print("ANY.RUN DETECTED")
else:
    print("NOT ANY.RUN")

About Author Open Snippet

Author: Kağan IŞILDAK / Target Platform: Windows

Description

Source: https://github.com/Malwation/InceptionAttack

#include <iostream>
#include <windows.h>
#include <TlHelp32.h>
#define DEBUG_MODE 1
#define STATUS_SUCCESS ((NTSTATUS)0x00000000L)
#define ThreadQuerySetWin32StartAddress 9

typedef NTSTATUS(WINAPI* NTQUERYINFOMATIONTHREAD)(HANDLE, LONG, PVOID, ULONG, PULONG);

struct args {
	HANDLE hThread;
};

DWORD_PTR WINAPI GetThreadStartAddress(HANDLE hThread)
{
	NTSTATUS ntStatus;
	DWORD_PTR dwThreadStartAddr;
	NTQUERYINFOMATIONTHREAD NtQueryInformationThread;
	NtQueryInformationThread = (NTQUERYINFOMATIONTHREAD)GetProcAddress(GetModuleHandleA("ntdll.dll"), "NtQueryInformationThread");
	ntStatus = NtQueryInformationThread(hThread, ThreadQuerySetWin32StartAddress, &dwThreadStartAddr, sizeof(DWORD_PTR), NULL);
	if (ntStatus != STATUS_SUCCESS) {
		return 0;
	}
	return dwThreadStartAddr;
}

DWORD_PTR * GetModuleInfo(DWORD pid, const wchar_t *target) {
	HANDLE hSnap = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPMODULE | TH32CS_SNAPMODULE32, pid);
	DWORD_PTR moduleinfo[2];
	if (hSnap != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
	{
		MODULEENTRY32 modEntry;
		modEntry.dwSize = sizeof(modEntry);
		if (Module32First(hSnap, &modEntry))
		{
			do
			{
				if (!_wcsicmp(modEntry.szModule, target)) {
					moduleinfo[0] = (DWORD_PTR)modEntry.modBaseAddr;
					moduleinfo[1] = modEntry.modBaseSize;
					return moduleinfo;
				}
				//std::wcout << "Name: " << modEntry.szModule << "\t Addr: " << modEntry.modBaseAddr << "\n";
			} while (Module32Next(hSnap, &modEntry));
		}
	}
	return 0;
}

BOOL isTarget(HANDLE tHandle, DWORD pid, const wchar_t *target) {
	DWORD_PTR ThreadStartAddr = GetThreadStartAddress(tHandle);
	if (!ThreadStartAddr) {
		std::cout << "Get start address of thread failed!\n";
		ExitProcess(1);
	}
	DWORD_PTR* retmoduleinfo = GetModuleInfo(pid, target);
	DWORD_PTR ModuleStart = retmoduleinfo[0];
	DWORD_PTR ModuleEnd = retmoduleinfo[0] + retmoduleinfo[1];
	// Only shows debug mode on (1)
	if (DEBUG_MODE) {
		printf("THREAD START ADDR: %012X\n", ThreadStartAddr);
		printf("MODULE START ADDR: %012X\n", retmoduleinfo[0]);
		printf("MODULE END ADDR: %012X\n", retmoduleinfo[0] + retmoduleinfo[1]);
	}
	if (ThreadStartAddr >= ModuleStart && ThreadStartAddr <= ModuleEnd) { // Is thread start address between ModuleStart and ModuleEnd?
		return TRUE;
	}
	else {
		return FALSE;
	}
}

void CrackAnyRun(LPVOID inargs) {
	args *funcargs = (args*)inargs;
	HANDLE tHandle = funcargs->hThread;
	while (1){
		SuspendThread(tHandle);
		std::cout << "Thread suspended\n";
		Sleep(24000);
		ResumeThread(tHandle);
		std::cout << "Thread resumed\n";
		Sleep(1000);
	}
}

int main()
{
	HANDLE tHandle, pHandle = 0, hToken;
	DWORD tid, pid = 0;
	LUID luid = { 0 };
	BOOL privRet = FALSE;

	if (OpenProcessToken(GetCurrentProcess(), TOKEN_ADJUST_PRIVILEGES, &hToken))
	{
		std::cout << "OpenProcessToken success!\n";
		if (LookupPrivilegeValue(NULL, SE_DEBUG_NAME, &luid))
		{
			TOKEN_PRIVILEGES tokenPriv = { 0 };
			tokenPriv.PrivilegeCount = 1;
			tokenPriv.Privileges[0].Luid = luid;
			tokenPriv.Privileges[0].Attributes = SE_PRIVILEGE_ENABLED;
			privRet = AdjustTokenPrivileges(hToken, FALSE, &tokenPriv, sizeof(TOKEN_PRIVILEGES), NULL, NULL);
		}
	}
	else {
		std::cout << "OpenProcessToken failed! Error: " << GetLastError() << "\n";
		ExitProcess(1);
	}
	if (!privRet) {
		std::cout << "Adjust privilege failed!\n";
		ExitProcess(1);
	}

	// Find PID by name
	PROCESSENTRY32 pe; 
	HANDLE hps = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS, 0);
	if (hps != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
		pe.dwSize = sizeof(PROCESSENTRY32);
		if (Process32First(hps, &pe)) {
			do {
				if (!_wcsicmp(pe.szExeFile, L"srvpost.exe")) {
					pid = pe.th32ProcessID;
				}
			} while (Process32Next(hps, &pe));
		}
	}
	else {
		std::cout << "Process snapshot cannot taken!\n";
		ExitProcess(1);
	}
	if (pid == 0) {
		std::cout << "Process not found!\n";
		ExitProcess(1);
	}
	// Retrieve threads in process
	HANDLE hth = CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPTHREAD, 0);
	if (hth != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
		THREADENTRY32 te;
		te.dwSize = sizeof(te);
		if (Thread32First(hth, &te)) {
			do {
				if (te.th32OwnerProcessID == pid) {
					tHandle = OpenThread(THREAD_SUSPEND_RESUME | THREAD_QUERY_INFORMATION, FALSE, te.th32ThreadID);
					if (tHandle != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
						if (isTarget(tHandle, pid, L"winsanr.dll")) {
							SuspendThread(tHandle);
							// Only shows debug mode on (1)
							if (DEBUG_MODE) {
								std::cout << "THREADID: " << te.th32ThreadID << "\n";
							}
						}
						// Crack any.run :D 
						if (isTarget(tHandle, pid, L"sechost.dll")) {
							HANDLE dupHandle;
							if (DuplicateHandle(GetCurrentProcess(), tHandle, GetCurrentProcess(), &dupHandle, THREAD_SUSPEND_RESUME, FALSE, 0)) {
								args thargs;
								thargs.hThread = dupHandle;
								CreateThread(NULL, 0, (LPTHREAD_START_ROUTINE)CrackAnyRun, &thargs, 0, NULL);
								CloseHandle(tHandle);
								continue;
							}
						}
						else {
							continue;
						}
						CloseHandle(tHandle);
					}
				}
			} while (Thread32Next(hth, &te));
		}
	}
	else {
		std::cout << "Thread snapshot cannot taken!\n";
		ExitProcess(1);
	}
	while (1); // for second thread
}

About Author Open Snippet

Author: Kağan IŞILDAK / Target Platform: Windows

Description

The code checks if the file My Wallpaper.jpg exists in the user’s Pictures folder, which indicates the system is running inside the Tria.ge sandbox.

private static bool detect_triage()
{

    string triage_wallpaper = System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("USERPROFILE") + "\\Pictures\\My Wallpaper.jpg";

    return File.Exists(triage_wallpaper);

}

About Author Open Snippet

Author: Futex / Target Platform: Windows

Contributor

Futex

Additional Resources

External Links

The resources provided below are associated links that will give you even more detailed information and research on current evasion technique. It is important to note that, while these resources may be helpful, it is important to exercise caution when following external links. As always, be careful when clicking on links from unknown sources, as they may lead to malicious content.