Detecting USB Drive

Created the Monday 11 March 2019. Updated 2 months, 1 week ago.

To detect whether a program is running in a sandbox environment, malware can look for the presence of USB drives. Many sandboxes do not have USB ports or do not allow access to USB drives, and detecting the absence of USB drives can help identify whether the program is being run in a sandbox.

Technique Identifiers

U1310 B0009.016

Technique Tags

sandbox program USB drives

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 code uses the GetLogicalDrives function to retrieve a bitmask of all available drives on the system, and the GetDriveTypeA function to check if each drive is removable. If a removable drive is detected, the code prints its drive letter to the console.

#include <windows.h>

int main() {
    UINT drives = GetLogicalDrives();
    for (int i = 0; i < 26; i++) {
        if ((drives & (1 << i)) && GetDriveTypeA((char)('A' + i) + ":\\") == DRIVE_REMOVABLE) {
            printf("USB drive detected: %c:\n", 'A' + i);
        }
    }
    return 0;
}

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.

https://www.first.org/resources/papers/conf2017/Countering-Innovative-Sandbox-Evasion-Techniques-Used-by-Malware.pdf