Xeno RAT Abuses Windows DLL Search To Avoid Detection

A brand fresh refined malware, which is written in C# and has refined functionalities, has been stumbled on.

This fresh malware has been named  Xeno RAT and is able to evading detection, payload generation and so that you can add the possibility vector, it is additionally accessible as initiating-provide on GitHub.

Furthermore, the malware makes spend of process injection, obfuscation, anti-debugging, C2 communication, and a total lot of other other tactics that create it even more refined to detect it.

The principle possibility vector of this malware is the spend of a Shortcut file and multi-stage payload downloader.

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Xeno RAT Abuses Windows DLL Search

In preserving with the reports shared with Cyber Security Records, this malware became once at the initiating delivered as a shortcut file (.lnk) which is named as “WhatsApp_2023-12-12_12-59-06-18264122612_DCIM.png.lnk”.

This LNK file acts as a downloader and makes spend of the Windows Disclose Shell to download and gain the payload from a ZIP archive positioned at the Discord CDN URL.

First Stage Execution

The LNK file contains obfuscated verbalize-line arguments with two shortened URLs that download two recordsdata from the Discord CDN server.

One among the recordsdata is a non-malicious file, whereas the opposite is the payload ZIP archive. This ZIP is downloaded and extracted in the itemizing “C:UserspersonAppDataRoamingAdobeDrivers”.

This ZIP archive contains three recordsdata two portable executable recordsdata with the extensions EXE and DLL, and the third file became once an unknown file underneath the title LICENSE.

The EXE file became once stumbled on underneath the title ADExplorer.exe, which is a Windows Sysinternals-equipped energetic itemizing viewer and editor.

The DLL file (samcli.dll) is the malicious payload that mimics the title of the “Security Accounts Manager Client DLL”.

Despite the true fact that the DLL file is signed, the signature became once no longer a verified one. The LICENSE file contains obfuscated text with read/write permissions.

2d Stage Execution

On this stage, the relaxation of the instructions in the LNK file provoke the ADExplorer.exe file with none prompts.

This ADExplorer.exe makes spend of the samcli.dll file for its functionalities and exploits the DLL search show performance of the Windows OS by positioning a malicious DLL file with the same title on the New Working Directory.

While right here’s being achieved, the samcli.dll is loaded in the ADExplorer.exe process. This ADExplorer.exe process creates a suspended process named “hh.exe” and performs process injection.

Moreover to, the ADExplorer.exe additionally creates two shortcut recordsdata in the most fresh working itemizing named “Records.lnk ” and “Support.url”.

The URL file gains to the Records.lnk file, which performs the same performance as the first downloaded LNK file.

Third Stage Execution and Closing Stage Execution

In the third stage, the hh.exe process creates any other suspended process, “colorcpl.exe,” and performs any other process injection.

This colorcpl.exe is terminated by hh.exe after which resumed underneath the “explorer.exe” process. At the Closing stage, the colorcpl.exe assessments if there are any installations of Xeno RAT on the sufferer machine.

If the malware is nowhere to be stumbled on, the approach starts to communicate with the C2 arena interior-liveapps[.]on-line and resolves to the Forty five[.]61[.]139[.]51 IP. The communication between the C2 is obfuscated.

This Xeno RAT is able to a total lot of functionalities comparable to monitoring, evading diagnosis, Hidden VNC, SOCKS5 proxy connection with the C2 server, persistence with Scheduled Tasks, process injection, community online page online visitors obfuscation, verbalize execution from C2, location updates, and heaps others.

Indicators Of Compromise

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