Georg Lauenstein
@gsecTrusted contributorCompletionist
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211 detections
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Detects a setx.exe process launched by python.exe or pip.exe with a command line referencing the PYTHONPATH environment variable. This matches setup.py build-time tampering that persistently rewrites the user's PYTHONPATH, redirecting future module resolution for the affected user to an attacker-controlled directory across all subsequent Python invocations.
Detects remote service creation where the service binary is launched from an SMB administrative share (ADMIN$ or C$), indicating potential PsExec-style lateral movement.
Detects a node/npm/npx process writing to a Unix shell startup file (.zshrc, .zprofile, .bashrc, .bash_profile) immediately after package install activity. STARDUST CHOLLIMA (DPRK-nexus) used stolen maintainer credentials to compromise the Axios npm package and deliver platform-specific "ZshBucket" malware, and separately injected a malicious dependency into 131 Mastra AI framework packages. Malicious postinstall scripts modifying shell profiles is a persistence mechanism consistent with this campaign's naming and delivery pattern.
Detects execution of esxcli syslog configuration commands where the command
itself is reconstructed at runtime from hex escape sequences, octal escape sequences, an
awk BEGIN block, or a Python chr()-based decoder before being reset against loghost.
CrowdStrike cataloged this pattern across 21 ESX BusyBox obfuscation techniques used to
hide 'esxcli system syslog config set --reset=loghost' from cleartext shell log review.
Threat actors including SCATTERED SPIDER, BlackBasta, Royal/BlackSuit, and Akira use this
to sever centralized log forwarding from a compromised ESXi host immediately before
encrypting the datastore.
itself is reconstructed at runtime from hex escape sequences, octal escape sequences, an
awk BEGIN block, or a Python chr()-based decoder before being reset against loghost.
CrowdStrike cataloged this pattern across 21 ESX BusyBox obfuscation techniques used to
hide 'esxcli system syslog config set --reset=loghost' from cleartext shell log review.
Threat actors including SCATTERED SPIDER, BlackBasta, Royal/BlackSuit, and Akira use this
to sever centralized log forwarding from a compromised ESXi host immediately before
encrypting the datastore.
Detects obfuscated shell command execution on VMware ESXi as hunted by CrowdStrike, where attackers hide esxcli commands (e.g. syslog config reset for log evasion, vm process list for recon) behind decode-and-execute wrappers such as printf hex/octal escapes, awk BEGIN blocks (chr/ord/xor/zero-width-unicode/morse/binary decoders), python -c chr() reconstruction, sed/od character-reversal ciphers, and $TERM/$SHELL substring reassembly, frequently invoking /usr/lib/vmware/busybox/bin/busybox or staging output in hidden /vmfs/volumes//.sys files before piping the reconstructed command into sh.
This is a living-off-the-land technique used to evade detection and hinder forensic reconstruction of attacker activity on ESXi hosts, and has been observed enabling syslog exfil-log evasion and VM/hypervisor reconnaissance.
This is a living-off-the-land technique used to evade detection and hinder forensic reconstruction of attacker activity on ESXi hosts, and has been observed enabling syslog exfil-log evasion and VM/hypervisor reconnaissance.
Detects a shell command referencing a hidden, octal/self-deleting payload
file written to a VMFS datastore volume using a '.sys' filename prefix followed by a
numeric timestamp, combined with an 'rm -f' cleanup of the same file. CrowdStrike observed
this VMFS staging technique used to blend a decoded payload in with legitimate system files
before it is executed and then removed as an anti-forensics step, denying incident
responders a copy of the payload from disk.
file written to a VMFS datastore volume using a '.sys' filename prefix followed by a
numeric timestamp, combined with an 'rm -f' cleanup of the same file. CrowdStrike observed
this VMFS staging technique used to blend a decoded payload in with legitimate system files
before it is executed and then removed as an anti-forensics step, denying incident
responders a copy of the payload from disk.
Detects awk-based shell command construction on ESX BusyBox that interleaves
an esxcli/vim-cmd command string with invisible Unicode code points (zero-width space,
zero-width non-joiner/joiner, word joiner, Mongolian vowel separator, left/right-to-left
marks, or Plane-16 private-use characters generated via sprintf hex escapes), strips them
with gsub(), and passes the result to system(). CrowdStrike documented this as one of 21
validated ESX obfuscation techniques that leaves only the invisible-character-laden string
in shell logs while the executed command is fully hidden from cleartext review.
an esxcli/vim-cmd command string with invisible Unicode code points (zero-width space,
zero-width non-joiner/joiner, word joiner, Mongolian vowel separator, left/right-to-left
marks, or Plane-16 private-use characters generated via sprintf hex escapes), strips them
with gsub(), and passes the result to system(). CrowdStrike documented this as one of 21
validated ESX obfuscation techniques that leaves only the invisible-character-laden string
in shell logs while the executed command is fully hidden from cleartext review.
Detects HTTP requests to known Sality (SALTY SPIDER) payload-hosting
domains distributed as "URL packs" to infected bots. Sality's P2P network tasks bots
with URL packs pointing to compromised or operator-maintained web servers hosting
malware payloads (such as the EggJagger clipjacker) disguised as innocuous image or
document files (.gif, .png, .pdf) on free hosting providers.
domains distributed as "URL packs" to infected bots. Sality's P2P network tasks bots
with URL packs pointing to compromised or operator-maintained web servers hosting
malware payloads (such as the EggJagger clipjacker) disguised as innocuous image or
document files (.gif, .png, .pdf) on free hosting providers.
Detects installation of a service or kernel driver named IPFILTERDRIVER,
the network packet-filtering driver used by the Sality P2P botnet (SALTY SPIDER) to
block infected hosts from reaching antivirus vendor domains/IPs and to shield the
peer-to-peer communication channel from local security tooling. Presence of this
service is a high-confidence indicator of Sality infection.
the network packet-filtering driver used by the Sality P2P botnet (SALTY SPIDER) to
block infected hosts from reaching antivirus vendor domains/IPs and to shield the
peer-to-peer communication channel from local security tooling. Presence of this
service is a high-confidence indicator of Sality infection.
Detects creation of a Windows service named "media_updaten" (the CoolClient backdoor persistence service, installed via CreateServiceA and started with 'sc start media_updaten') or "msagent" (the signed kernel-mode driver service that grants CoolClient its rootkit capabilities: process/file/registry hiding, object callback protection, and C2 IP filtering via Nsiproxy). Both exact service names are unique to this HoneyMyte campaign and are not associated with any legitimate Windows or third-party product.
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