Attackers use EternalBlue exploit to enroll Adylkuzz mining botnet
The SonicWall Threats Research team observed reports of a new variant family cryptocurrency miner Adylkuzz [GAV: Adylkuzz.A and Adylkuzz.B] actively spreading in the wild.
At the time of this article, the malware does not have the capability to exploit (MS17-010) vulnerability to exploit the target machine and propagate on its own. Attackers separately exploit the vulnerability by scanning target machine IPs/ports using a third-party tools and installing the Adylkuzz malware on the target system.
Infection Cycle:
The Malware adds the following files to the system:
-
Malware.exe
-
%windir%Fontswuauser.exe
-
The Trojan adds the following service to the Windows to ensure persistence upon reboot:
Once the computer is compromised, the malware copies its own executable file to %windir%Fonts folder and downloads Adylkuzz miner.
Upon successful exploit the malware runs the following commands on the target machine to stop any SMB communication to avoid further infection by similar threats such as WannaCry ransomware.
The malware running following commands to kill some apps on the target system such as following:
The Malware injects an API table as shown below:
The malware installs the cryptocurrency miner Adylkuzz on the target machine as shown below:
Command and Control (C&C) Traffic
The Malware performs C&C communication over TCP and UDP ports. The malware sends your system UID to its own C&C server via following format, here are some examples:
We have been monitoring varying hits over the past few days for the signature that blocks this threat:
SonicWALL Gateway AntiVirus provides protection against this threat via the following signature:
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.A (Trojan)
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.B (Trojan)
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.B_2 (Trojan)
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.B_3 (Trojan)
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.B_4 (Trojan)
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.B_5 (Trojan)
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.B_6 (Trojan)
-
GAV: Adylkuzz.B_7 (Trojan)
