Two phishing documents named “Lockheed_Martin_JobOpportunities.docx” and “Salary_Lockheed_Martin_job_opportunities_confidential.doc” detected in this campgain.
The initial entry point for the macro is via the ActiveX Frame1_Layout to automatically execute once ActiveX control is enabled.
First macro starts by loading WMVCORE.DLL, which is a legitimate windows dll for windows media.
Interestingly, to make the macro seem more innocuous, Lazarus uses function names identical to the exported functions of WMVCORE.DLL and variable names thematically related to playback.
Then, the macro uses a check for a document variable before entering its main functionality block.
This variable is set at the end to ensure that subsequent opening of the document does not execute it again.
The second stage payload is shellcode that is embedded as a base64 encoded string array inside the macro that is decoded by using CryptStringToBinaryW.
Other variants have used the UuidFromStringA function to decode the embedded payload and write it to an executable Heap.
The decoded shellcode then overwrites the WMIsAvailableOffline function from WMVCORE.dll by retrieving its address and changing its memory permissions.
The callback to the shellcode is achieved by retrieving the KernelCallbackTable pointer from the PEB structure of the current process via NtQueryInformationProcess, and then patching the _fnDWORD pointer to point to WMIsAvailableOffline.
Whenever winword makes any graphical call, the shellcode executes.
The macro then sets a document variable to ensure that subsequent runs would not execute the shellcode decode and the KernelCllbackTable hijack again.
It also retrieves a decoy document and displays it.
The shellcode mainly sets up a periodic beacon out to https://markettrendingcenter[.]com/member[.]htm by creating a new staging folder C:WMAuthorization , writing a vbs file (WMVxEncd.vbs) to it, and creating a corresponding Scheduled task to run the vbs file every 20 minutes.
shellObj is the Wscript.Shell object that the vbs file uses to execute the beacon command.
Sign Up For Threat Alerts
Jan 29, 2023
APT15 Targets Multiple Sectors With Turian Backdoor
APT15, also known as Playful Taurus, is an advanced persistent threat (APT) that conducts a...
Jan 26, 2023
Vice Society Ransomware Group Targets Manufacturing Companies
The Vice Society threat group was discovered targeting multiple sectors including manufacturing companies in Brazil....
Jan 26, 2023
US Cert Alert – Alert (AA23-025A) Protecting...
Although this campaign appears financially motivated, the authoring organizations assess it could lead to additional...
Jan 25, 2023
Emotet Malware Makes a Comeback with New...
The Emotet malware operation has continued to refine its tactics in an effort to fly...
Jan 25, 2023
DragonSpark
The DragonSpark attacks represent the first concrete malicious activity where Analysts observe the consistent use...
Jan 25, 2023
PLAY Ransomware
PLAY is simple but heavily obfuscated with a lot of unique tricks that have not...
Jan 24, 2023
Gamaredon Abuses Telegram To Target Ukrainian Government...
The Gamaredon APT group was discovered targeting Ukrainian government entities using the Telegram messaging service...
Jan 23, 2023
NeedleDropper: A New Dropper-as-a-Service Uncovered
Avast's Threat Research Team has since October 2022 been observing a new strain of dropper...
Jan 22, 2023
Aurora Stealer Leverages Shapeshifting Tactics And Popular...
A threat actor was discovered mimicking legitimate websites to host and deliver the 9002 RAT,...
Jan 19, 2023
Earth Bogle Campaign Targets Entities With Geopolitical...
Middle Eastern geopolitical themed lures were used to distribute njRAT across the Middle East and...
Jan 18, 2023
The NoName057(16) Hacktivist Group Targets Ukraine Supporters...
The NoName057(16) hacktivist group targeted multiple sectors across Ukraine and neighboring countries with DDoS attacks....
Jan 17, 2023
Italy Targeted By Information Stealer Malware
An un-named information stealer was targeting end users in Italy through a phishing campaign using...
Jan 15, 2023
The Australian healthcare industry was targeted by...
The Australian healthcare industry was targeted by the Gootkit loader malware; initial access was gained...
Jan 11, 2023
Shc Linux Malware Used To Install XMRig...
External facing Linux servers in South Korea were targeted with a Shc (Shell Script Compiler)...
Jan 11, 2023
Dridex Returns To Target MacOS With Updated...
Threat actors have been seen targeting Mac users with the Dridex malware. Although the malware...