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    July 28, 2022

    Qbot Reappears, Now Leveraging DLL Side Loading Technique To Bypass Detection Mechanisms

    Research by: Karthickkumar K

    Qbot (a.k.a. Qakbot or Pinkslipbot) is a banking trojan that steals sensitive information from victims’ machines and sends it to a Command and Control (C2) server. This threat was identified in 2007 and is still active with different variants.

    The Uptycs Threat Research team recently observed a few changes in the infection flow of Qbot. A DLL side-loading method to execute malicious code helps malware bypass detection mechanisms. Another technique we’ve observed in the Qbot binary is self-debugging (using environment variables) which it uses to check if the system is already infected. Further, some new versions of Qbot binary target the wermgr.exe process to inject the malicious code.

     

    Infection Flow

    The below figure shows the infection chain of the newer versions of Qbot binary (Figure 1):


    Figure 1: Infection chain

     

    As we can see in the above diagram, the infection chain for newer binaries includes trusted apps like calc.exe for DLL side-loading.

    Upon opening the HTML file which comes via spam email, it drops a password-protected ZIP file named “TXRTN_2636021.zip” into the local system. The below screenshot (Figure 2) shows the HTML page from spam email.

     


    Figure 2: HTML file

     

    By extracting the ZIP file using the password mentioned in the HTML page, we can get an ISO file. The ISO file contains the following:

    • LNK file : TXRTN_8468190 - This is LNK file is the execution trigger point
    • WindowsCodecs.dll - Windows file (masqueraded name) for executing malicious payload
    • Calc.exe - Legitimate windows file with hidden attribute
    • 102755.dll - Qbot DLL with hidden attribute 

     

    The below screenshot shows the files inside the ISO file.


    Figure 3: Inside the ISO file

    Upon executing the LNK file, it launches the “Calc.exe”. On execution of “Calc.exe”, it loads the file named “WindowsCodecs.dll” (name masquerading) which contains the malicious code. This creates a new process with malware payload “102755.dll” and the below command line:

    • “C:\Windows\Syswow64\regsvr32.exe 102755.dll” (see Figure 4)

     


    Figure 4: Regsvr32 execution

     

    The below screenshot shows the process chain of Qbot.


    Figure 5: Process execution flow

    This way the malware uses the DLL side-loading technique to execute malicious payloads without being detected—unless you know what you’re looking for.

     

    Technical Analysis 

    102755.dll

    The DLL file (102755.dll) is a x32 bit Delphi compiled binary, which has no export functions.

     


    Figure 6: Initial Qbot payload

     

    Upon execution of the DLL file, it decrypts the XOR encoded payload in memory. The payload is a VC compiled binary. The Dump 1 (see Figure 7) shows the payload along with an API function.

    Figure 7: Decryption loop and the dumped payload binary

     

    Qbot Payload

    The Qbot payload first checks for the Microsoft Defender emulation folder using GetFileAttributes API. This condition is checked with the string “C:\INTERNAL\__empty”. If the condition is satisfied, the payload gets terminated.


    Figure 8: Emulation check

     

    Next, the payload checks for the environment variable “SELF_TEST_1” to check if the victim is already infected. If the flag is set, it will clear the memory and terminate itself.


    Figure 9: Self check

     

    If the victim PC is not already infected, the payload binary creates a new thread and starts the execution.


    Figure 10: Thread Creation

     

    The first thread function runs an API hashing function that restructures the new IAT table as follows:.

    • Kernel32.dll
    • Ntdll.dll
    • User32.dll
    • Netapi32.dll
    • Advapi32.dll
    • Shlwapi.dll
    • Shell32.dll
    • Userenv.dll
    • w32_32.dll

     

    Figure 11: Restructured IAT table

     

    The payload also involves the anti-debug check using GetTickCount() API. After the anti debug check, it collects the sensitive system information from the victim PC such as Computer name, GetVolumeInformation, User Account name, Module Name, Type of process, and OS version info.

    The payload contains the XOR encoded AV process names in a list. After decoding, the payload checks against the running processes in the system. The payload uses a combination of CreateToolhelp32Snapshot,Process32First and Process32Next APIs.


    Figure 12: Decryption loop for AV name check list

     

    Below is the list of process names checked by the payload:

    • ccSvcHst.exe
    • Avgcsrvx.exe
    • Avgsvcx.exe
    • avgcsrva.exe
    • MsMpEng.exe
    • mcshield.exe
    • Avp.exe
    • kavtray.exe
    • Egui.exe
    • ekrn.exe
    • Bdagent.exe
    • Vsserv.exe
    • vsservppl.exe
    • AvastSvc.exe
    • coreServiceShell.exe
    • PccNTMon.exe
    • NTRTScan.exe
    • SAVAdminService.exe
    • SavService.exe
    • fshoster32.exe
    • WRSA.exe
    • Vkise.exe
    • Isesrv.exe
    • cmdagent.exe
    • ByteFence.exe
    • MBAMService.exe
    • mbamgui.exe
    • fmon.exe
    • Dwengine.exe
    • Dwarkdaemon.exe
    • dwwatcher.exe

     

    Previously, the Qbot malware tried to inject malicious content in any of the processes from the list below:

    • %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\Explorer.exe
    • %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe
    • %SystemRoot%\System32\OneDriveSetup.exe
    • %SystemRoot%\Explorer.exe
    • %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\mobsync.exe
    • %SystemRoot%\System32\mobsync.exe
    • %ProgramFiles%\Internet Explorer\iexplorer.exe
    • %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Internet Explorer\iexplorer.exe
    • %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\msra.exe
    • %SystemRoot%\System32\msra.exe

     

    This time Qbot changes the list of target processes. 

    • C:\Windows\SysWOW64\wermgr.exe
    • C:\Windows\SysWOW64\msra.exe
    • C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe

     

    Once the target process is chosen (in our case wermgr.exe), the payload uses a process-hollowing technique to inject into the legitimate target process.

     

    Conclusion: Detect and Stop Qbot Attacks

    Our research on Qbot showed the advancements in its attack chain. Enterprises must have tight security controls and multi-layered visibility and security solutions to identify and detect malware like Qbot. Uptycs’ EDR correlation engine detected the Qbot activity by correlating generic behavioral rules and YARA process scanning capabilities.

     

    Uptycs EDR Detection

    Uptycs EDR—armed with YARA process scanning, advanced detections, and the ability to correlate Registry Events, Process File Events, Process Events and API Events—successfully detects different types of tactics carried out by Qbot. 

    Additionally, Uptycs EDR contextual detection provides important details about the identified malware. Users can navigate to the toolkit data section in the detection alert and click on the name to find out the behavior as shown below (Figures 13 & 14).


    Figure 13: Uptycs EDR detection

     


    Figure 14: Uptycs EDR detection

     

    IOCs

    File Name

    MD5

    HTML

    5cb20a0bfc5e3e2ae8398b1840adf7ae

    TXRTN_2636021.zip

    a61219832554d574a0b5e17c0e82f2ef

    TXRTN_2636021.iso

    17be394b5cd6d74c3709e39f02cd1aa3

    TXRTN_2636021.lnk

    eea824215afd2936b4b9c428558a11ed

    calc.exe

    60b7c0fead45f2066e5b805a91f4f0fc

    WindowsCodecs.dll

    491e9489c9e11f8b9d3d77239559a194

    102755.dll

    217f7ddedf40dbe456ce13bf01bd74fc

     

    To learn more about the latest threat research conducted by the Uptycs Team, check out our most recent threat bulletin below.

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    Uptycs Threat Research

    Research and updates from the Uptycs Threat Research team.

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