As soon as used solely by the cybercriminals behind REVil ransomware and the Gootkit banking trojan, GootLoader and its major payload have developed into an preliminary entry as a service platform—with Gootkit offering info stealing capabilities in addition to the potential to deploy post-exploitation instruments and ransomware.
GootLoader is understood for utilizing SEO (Web optimization) poisoning for its preliminary entry. Victims are sometimes enticed into clicking on malicious adware or hyperlinks disguised as professional advertising and marketing, or on this case a professional Google search directing the person to a compromised web site internet hosting a malicious payload masquerading as the specified file. If the malware stays undetected on the sufferer’s machine, it makes method for a second-stage payload generally known as GootKit, which is a extremely evasive information stealer and distant entry Trojan (RAT) used to ascertain a persistent foothold within the sufferer’s community atmosphere. GootKit can be utilized to deploy ransomware or different instruments, together with Cobalt Strike, for follow-on exploitation.
Detection of a brand new GootLoader variant actively being utilized by adversaries earlier this 12 months led to a broad menace searching marketing campaign by Sophos X-Ops MDR for GootLoader situations throughout buyer environments. As is typical of Gootloader, the brand new variant was discovered to be utilizing Web optimization poisoning—using SEO techniques to place malicious web sites managed by GootLoader’s operators excessive within the outcomes for particular search phrases—to ship the brand new, JavaScript-based Gootloader bundle. On this case, we discovered the GootLoader actors utilizing search outcomes for details about a specific cat and a specific geography getting used to ship the payload: “Are Bengal Cats authorized in Australia?”
Throughout the menace hunt marketing campaign, MDR found a .zip archive used to ship GootLoader’s first-stage payload whereas reviewing an impacted person’s browser historical past. This allowed MDR to establish the compromised web site that was internet hosting the malicious payload. This report highlights the MDR investigation course of and the technical particulars of the uncovered GootLoader marketing campaign.
Technical Evaluation and Identification
First-stage payload
On March 27, 2024, the MDR workforce carried out a proactive menace searching marketing campaign throughout a number of prospects estates, following just lately reported identification of a brand new GootLoader variant being actively exploited within the wild.
Our investigation revealed the menace actor was utilizing Web optimization poisoning by way of an simply accessed on-line discussion board discovered by way of a easy Google search, initiated by the person for ‘Do you want a license to personal a Bengal cat in Australia’. The primary search outcome took us to this URL:
hxxps[://]ledabel[.]be/en/are-bengal-cats-legal-in-australia-understanding-the-laws-and-regulations/#:~:textual content=Eachpercent20statepercent20andpercent20territorypercent20in,topercent20keeppercent20thempercent20aspercent20pets.
Instantly after the person clicks the hyperlink, a suspicious .zip file was downloaded to C:Customers
Second-stage payload
Upon evaluate of the operating processes, we had been in a position to decide {that a} small JavaScript file was dropping a big JavaScript file on the location C:Customers
We moreover noticed the creation of a scheduled activity named “Enterprise Aviation” with the command line “wscript REHABI~1.JS” (as proven in Determine 3). This was suspected to be a persistence methodology through which the menace actor was using WScript.exe to execute the second-stage payload of GootKit.
We additionally famous the utilization of the command C:WindowsSystem32cscript.exe REHABI~1.JS spawning PowerShell.exe, as proven in Determine 4. The cscript.exe command line device is particular to Home windows Server. The instructions handed to PowerShell weren’t captured on this case.
Nonetheless, analyzing the URL historical past, we noticed PowerShell.exe reaching out to the next domains, as proven in Determine 5. Third-stage payload
Within the case the MDR workforce examined, our workforce didn’t observe the third stage being profitable in reaching a full deployment of GootKit, stopping the obtain of any extra malicious tooling. This stage usually is the place the deployment of extra instruments akin to Cobalt Strike happens, or when ransomware is added to the sufferer’s machine.
Malware Triage
Static Evaluation
MDR carried out a static evaluation of the of the .zip pattern obtained from the malicious URL hxxps[://]ledabel[.]be/en/are-bengal-cats-legal-in-australia-understanding-the-laws-and-regulations/#:~:textual content=Inpercent20mostpercent20casespercent2Cpercent20youpercent20do,apercent20Bengalpercent20catpercent20inpercent20Australia. Throughout the zip file was a JavaScript named “are bengal cats authorized in australia 72495.js”.
As we famous above, the JavaScript’s title is modified every time the file is downloaded with a special concluding numerical sequence. This was additionally noticed when extracting the small JavaScript from the zip file, as proven in Determine 6. For instance, customers could observe a filename with are bengal cats authorized in australia 75876.zip as a substitute, when making an attempt to acquire a pattern from the malicious URL.
A string evaluation of the dropped file was not helpful in figuring out its intent, because the JavaScript was closely obfuscated—as is widespread in Gootloader samples. The script additionally included boilerplate licensing feedback to make it look like a professional JavaScript, as proven in Determine 7.
Nonetheless, Strings evaluation of the secondary bigger JavaScript that was downloaded into C:Customers
MDR used a Python script created by Mandiant for auto-decoding of GootLoader JavaScript to statically analyze the initially downloaded Are_bengal_cats_legal_in_australia_72495.js. As proven in Determine 9, the file was recognized as Gootloader variant 3.0 by way of the obfuscation methodology, the place the primary file created was named Huthwaite SPIN promoting.dat adopted by Small Models Ways.js and Scheduled Activity named Vacation spot Branding. The decoder additionally recognized numerous malicious domains throughout the obfuscated strings.
Dynamic evaluation
Varied dynamic evaluation instruments had been utilized to look at the conduct of the malicious JavaScript. Upon execution, WScript.exe was noticed creating the primary file situated inside C:Customers
Shortly after Wscript.exe executed Are_bengal_cats_legal_in_australia_72495.js, Course of Hacker confirmed CScript.exe and Powershell.exe being created with a conhost.exe spawned, as proven in Determine 11. MDR noticed that Wscript.exe would terminate, adopted by Cscript.exe that may additionally terminate shortly after, after which Powershell.exe was created.
Persistence was obtained by way of CScript.exe executing the file SMALLU~1.js by way of a scheduled activity named Vacation spot Branding (with command line wscript SMALLU ~1.js , as proven in Determine 12). Throughout the lab evaluation, the secondary JavaScript might be dropped inside any folders situated inside C:Customers
MDR carried out community and C2 examinations utilizing Wireshark and FakeNet to carry out a community seize through the execution of Are_bengal_cats_legal_in_australia_72495.js. FakeNet confirmed numerous domains being reached out to with GET /xmlrpc.php HTTP/1.1 requests by way of Powershell.exe. The requests contained Base64-encoded cookies which, when decoded, confirmed enumeration info concerning machine directories and host info such because the folder path of C:Customers
Examination of the PCAP seize lists numerous domains that had been additionally recognized throughout static evaluation, as proven in Determine 14. These domains and IOCs have been labeled by Sophos Labs as malware/callhome ; the preliminary and secondary JavaScript information are labeled as JS/Drop-DIJ and JS/Gootkit-AW respectively.
MITRE mapping
The next chart maps the noticed techniques to the MITRE ATT&CK® framework.
| Tactic | Method | Sub-Method | ID |
| Reconnaissance | |||
| Useful resource Improvement | Stage Capabilities | Add Malware
Web optimization Poisoning |
T1608.001
T1608.006 |
| Preliminary Entry | Drive-by Compromise | T1189 | |
| Execution | Command and Scripting Interpreter | JavaScript | T1059.007 |
| Persistence | Scheduled Activity/Job | Scheduled Activity | T1053.005 |
| Privilege Escalation | |||
| Protection Evasion | Obfuscated Recordsdata or Data | Embedded Payloads | T1027.009 |
| Credential Entry | |||
| Discovery | System Data Discovery | T1082 | |
| Lateral Motion | |||
| Assortment | |||
| Command and Management | |||
| Exfiltration | Exfiltration Over Internet Service | T1567 | |
| Affect |
Conclusion
GootLoader is one in all numerous persevering with malware-delivery-as-a-service operations that closely leverage search outcomes as a method to succeed in victims. The usage of SEO, and abuse of search engine promoting to lure targets to obtain malware loaders and dropper, will not be new—GootLoader has been doing this since no less than 2020, and we’ve noticed Raccoon Stealer and different malware-as-a-service operations doing the identical for simply as lengthy. However we’ve seen continued progress on this method to preliminary compromise, with a number of huge campaigns utilizing this method over the previous 12 months.
Sophos endpoint safety blocks GootLoader by way of numerous behavioral and malware-specific detections. However customers ought to nonetheless look out for search outcomes and search ads that appear too good to be true on domains which might be off the crushed path—whether or not they’re trying to get a Bengal Cat or not.
Indicators of Compromise
A listing of IOCs is on the market as a CSV file within the Sophos GitHub repository right here.