Detecting Virtual Environment Artefacts

Created the Monday 11 March 2019. Updated 2 weeks, 4 days ago.

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.

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 Unit Id 0 contains the value Identifier with data QEMU. Another check is the key HARDWARE\Description\System with the value SystemBiosVersion and data QEMU.
VirtualBox: The VirtualBox Guest Additions leave multiple registry artifacts. Searching the registry for the string VBOX often reveals keys that expose the presence of VirtualBox.
VMware (Registry & Files): VMware installs tools in C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools, and related registry entries may also contain information about the virtual hard drive, network adapters, or virtual mouse. Searching the registry for VMware can reveal these indicators.
VMware (Memory): VMware also leaves artifacts in memory. Critical processor structures may be moved or altered inside a VM, leaving recognizable footprints. Malware can scan physical memory for strings such as VMware to confirm that it is running in a virtualized environment.

Technique Identifier

U1332

Code Snippets

Description

This is a snippet to detect most common registry keys created by virtual machines.

#include <iostream>
#include<Windows.h>
#include<stdio.h>

using namespace std;

int reg_value_exist(HKEY hKey, char * regkey_s, char * value_s, char * lookup) {
	HKEY regkey;
	LONG ret;
	DWORD size;
	char value[1024];


	if (RegOpenKeyEx(hKey, regkey_s, 0, KEY_READ, &regkey))
    {
        if (RegQueryValueEx(regkey, value_s, NULL, NULL, (BYTE*)value, &size))
        {
            cout << " [-] Reg value doesn't exist: " << (regkey) << endl;
        }
        else
        {
            cout << " [*] Reg value exist: " << (value) << endl;
        }
	}

    else
    {
        if (RegQueryValueEx(regkey, value_s, NULL, NULL, (BYTE*)value, &size))
        {
            cout << " [-] Reg value doesn't exist: " << (regkey) << endl;
        }
        else
        {
            cout << " [*] Reg value exist: " << (value) << endl;
        }
    }
}

int RegistryArtifacts()
{
    HKEY hKey;

    // list of registry key related virutal machines
    LPCTSTR RegValuePath[] = { "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 0\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0",
                               "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 1\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0",
                               "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 2\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0",
                               "SOFTWARE\\VMware, Inc.\\VMware Tools",
                               "HARDWARE\\Description\\System",
                               "SOFTWARE\\Oracle\\VirtualBox Guest Additions",
                               "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\Disk\\Enum",
                               "HARDWARE\\ACPI\\DSDT\\VBOX__",
                               "HARDWARE\\ACPI\\FADT\\VBOX__",
                               "HARDWARE\\ACPI\\RSDT\\VBOX__",
                               "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxGuest",
                               "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxMouse",
                               "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxService",
                               "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxSF",
                               "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxVideo",
                               };


    for (int i = 0; i < (sizeof(RegValuePath) / sizeof(LPCWSTR)); i++)
    {

        if (RegOpenKeyEx(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, RegValuePath[i], 0, KEY_READ, &hKey))
        {
            cout << " [-] Reg key doesn't exist: " << (RegValuePath[i]) << endl;
        }
        else
        {
            cout << " [*] Reg key exist: " << (RegValuePath[i]) << endl;
        }

    }

    // Check for registry Value
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 0\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0", "Identifier", "VMware");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 1\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0", "Identifier", "VMware");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 2\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0", "Identifier", "VMware");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 0\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0", "Identifier", "VBOX");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\Description\\System", "SystemBiosVersion", "VBOX");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\Description\\System", "VideoBiosVersion", "VIRTUALBOX");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\DESCRIPTION\\System", "SystemBiosDate", "06/23/99");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 0\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0", "Identifier", "QEMU");
    reg_value_exist(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "HARDWARE\\Description\\System", "SystemBiosVersion", "QEMU");
}

int main()
{
    RegistryArtifacts();
    return 0;
}

About Author Open Snippet

Author: Thomas Roccia (fr0gger) / Target Platform: Windows

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

/**
 * Checks for files that indicate a virtualized environment.
 * Returns 1 if a VM is detected, otherwise 0.
 */
int check_for_vm() {
    // Files commonly associated with virtualization
    const char *files[] = {
        "/sys/class/dmi/id/product_name",  // Product name (e.g., "VMware Virtual Platform")
        "/sys/class/dmi/id/sys_vendor",   // System vendor (e.g., "QEMU", "VMware, Inc.")
        "/proc/scsi/scsi",                // SCSI controllers (some hypervisors leave traces here)
        "/proc/cpuinfo",                  // CPU flags (may contain "hypervisor")
        NULL
    };

    for (int i = 0; files[i] != NULL; i++) {
        FILE *file = fopen(files[i], "r");
        if (file) {
            char content[128];
            fgets(content, sizeof(content), file);
            fclose(file);

            // Check for known hypervisor signatures
            if (strstr(content, "VMware") || 
                strstr(content, "VirtualBox") || 
                strstr(content, "QEMU") || 
                strstr(content, "Xen") || 
                strstr(content, "KVM") ||
                strstr(content, "hypervisor")) {
                return 1;  // VM detected
            }
        }
    }
    return 0;  // No VM detected
}

int main() {
    if (check_for_vm()) {
        printf("[!] Virtual machine detected.\n");
    } else {
        printf("[+] No signs of virtualization found.\n");
    }
    return 0;
}

About Author Open Snippet

Author: Sadoc ADONON (weirdraven) / Target Platform: Linux

Detection Rules

rule Qemu_Detection
{
	meta:
		Author = "Thomas Roccia - @fr0gger_ - Unprotect Project"
		Description = "Checks for QEMU Registry Key"
	strings:
		$desc1 = "HARDWARE\\Description\\System" nocase wide ascii
		$desc2 = "SystemBiosVersion" nocase wide ascii
		$desc3 = "QEMU" wide nocase ascii

		$dev1 = "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 0\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0" nocase wide ascii
		$dev2 = "Identifier" nocase wide ascii
		$dev3 = "QEMU" wide nocase ascii
	condition:
		any of ($desc*) or any of ($dev*)
}

rule VBox_Detection
{
	meta:
		Author = "Thomas Roccia - @fr0gger_ - Unprotect Project"
		Description = "Checks for VBOX Registry Key"
	strings:
		$desc1 = "HARDWARE\\Description\\System" nocase wide ascii
		$desc2 = "SystemBiosVersion" nocase wide ascii
		$desc3 = "VideoBiosVersion" nocase wide ascii

		$data1 = "VBOX" nocase wide ascii
		$data2 = "VIRTUALBOX" nocase wide ascii
		
		$dev1 = "HARDWARE\\DEVICEMAP\\Scsi\\Scsi Port 0\\Scsi Bus 0\\Target Id 0\\Logical Unit Id 0" nocase wide ascii
		$dev2 = "Identifier" nocase wide ascii
		$dev3 = "VBOX" nocase wide ascii

		$soft1 = "SOFTWARE\\Oracle\\VirtualBox Guest Additions"
		$soft2 = "HARDWARE\\ACPI\\DSDT\\VBOX__"
		$soft3 = "HARDWARE\\ACPI\\FADT\\VBOX__"
		$soft4 = "HARDWARE\\ACPI\\RSDT\\VBOX__"
		$soft5 = "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxGuest"
		$soft6 = "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxService"
		$soft7 = "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxMouse"
		$soft8 = "SYSTEM\\ControlSet001\\Services\\VBoxVideo"

		$virtualbox1 = "VBoxHook.dll" nocase
	        $virtualbox2 = "VBoxService" nocase
        	$virtualbox3 = "VBoxTray" nocase
        	$virtualbox4 = "VBoxMouse" nocase
        	$virtualbox5 = "VBoxGuest" nocase
        	$virtualbox6 = "VBoxSF" nocase
        	$virtualbox7 = "VBoxGuestAdditions" nocase
        	$virtualbox8 = "VBOX HARDDISK"  nocase
        	$virtualbox9 = "VBoxVideo" nocase
		$virtualbox10 = "vboxhook" nocase
		$virtualbox11 = "vboxmrxnp" nocase
		$virtualbox12 = "vboxogl" nocase
		$virtualbox13 = "vboxoglarrayspu" nocase
		$virtualbox14 = "vboxoglcrutil"
		$virtualbox15 = "vboxoglerrorspu" nocase
		$virtualbox16 = "vboxoglfeedbackspu" nocase
		$virtualbox17 = "vboxoglpackspu" nocase
		$virtualbox18 = "vboxoglpassthroughspu" nocase
		$virtualbox19 = "vboxcontrol" nocase

        	// VirtualBox Mac Address
        	$virtualbox_mac_1a = "08-00-27"
        	$virtualbox_mac_1b = "08:00:27"
        	$virtualbox_mac_1c = "080027"	
	condition:
		any of ($desc*) and 
		1 of ($data*) or 
		any of ($dev*) or 
		any of ($soft*) or
		any of ($virtualbox*)
}

rule:
  meta:
    name: check for windows sandbox via process name
    namespace: anti-analysis/anti-vm/vm-detection
    author: "@_re_fox"
    scope: function
    att&ck:
      - Defense Evasion::Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion::System Checks [T1497.001]
    mbc:
      - Anti-Behavioral Analysis::Virtual Machine Detection [B0009]
    references:
      - https://github.com/LloydLabs/wsb-detect
    examples:
      - 773290480d5445f11d3dc1b800728966:0x140001140
  features:
    - and:
      - match: enumerate processes
      - string: CExecSvc.exe

rule:
  meta:
    name: check for windows sandbox via registry
    namespace: anti-analysis/anti-vm/vm-detection
    author: "@_re_fox"
    scope: function
    att&ck:
      - Defense Evasion::Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion::System Checks [T1497.001]
    mbc:
      - Anti-Behavioral Analysis::Virtual Machine Detection [B0009]
    references:
      - https://github.com/LloydLabs/wsb-detect
    examples:
      - 773290480d5445f11d3dc1b800728966:0x140001140
  features:
    - and:
      - api: RegOpenKeyEx
      - api: RegEnumValue
      - string: /\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\RunOnce/
      - string: /wmic useraccount where \"name='WDAGUtilityAccount'\"/i

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.

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