The BugSleep backdoor is malware that this report attributes to MuddyWater. It can upload and download files, run commands through a reverse shell, and create or change scheduled tasks to stay on a system. MITRE ATT&CK describes MuddyWater as a cyber espionage group assessed to be part of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
This report presents an in-depth technical analysis of the BugSleep Backdoor, attributed to MuddyWater. The malware exhibits a range of sophisticated features, particularly notable for its capacity to deeply infiltrate target systems and perform remote command and control operations. Such malware represents a significant threat, especially to organizations with vulnerabilities in their information security.
BugSleep Backdoor includes capabilities such as uploading and downloading files, executing commands through a reverse shell, and creating or modifying scheduled tasks to maintain persistence.
What You Will Find In This Report?
Learn Technical Method of Operation Details
You will find the technical details of the BugSleep Backdoor its functions, and details about cyber attack tactics. The report will show many points about its technical details, detections, and IoCs.
Gain Knowledge About Future Attacks
By understanding its attack model, you can make more informed predictions about the future of cybersecurity. Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and keep your business from potential threats.
Response & Mitigation Tactics From Experts
Brandefense analysts share practical response and mitigation advice on this topic. The BugSleep Backdoor employs sophisticated techniques to avoid analysis by security researchers. You need experts’ perspective.
What Does the BugSleep Backdoor Technical Analysis Report Cover?
The report is a technical walk through one BugSleep sample. It has an executive summary, a scope table with file fingerprints, an infection chain, a command and control analysis, a YARA rule, a MITRE ATT&CK mapping, mitigation steps, a conclusion and indicators of compromise. The report is marked TLP:CLEAR.
What Does the Executive Summary Say?
The report says the group works under the Iranian intelligence service MOIS. It says investigations suggest MuddyWater may be targeting countries such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel. It says the group has recently been seen embedding malicious links in PDF files sent by phishing email. Visiting the link downloads a ZIP file that holds the backdoor executable.
What Technical Findings Does the Report State?
- The sample is named Portal.exe. The report lists phishing email as the initial infection vector.
- The malware resolves obfuscated API strings and DLLs at run time and decrypts them just before use.
- It creates a mutex named DocumentUpdater.
- It calls the Sleep API many times. The report calls this an anti-VM technique.
- It creates a directory named SoftwareMemory and writes a copy of itself there as documentsmanager.exe.
- It creates a scheduled task named DocumentsManagerReporter. The task triggers after an event and repeats for persistence.
- It can create processes in a hidden window. It also encodes the data it sends and receives.
An analyst note says the command server address was down. The command analysis is therefore based on static analysis.
How Does the Report Map the Behavior to MITRE ATT&CK?
The matrix lists Initial Access, Execution, Persistence, Defense Evasion and Command and Control. Techniques named include Phishing, Scheduled Task, Dynamic API Resolution, Modify Registry, Masquerading, Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion and Non Standard Encoding.
What Defensive Steps Does the Report Give?
- Check for the DocumentsManagerReporter scheduled task.
- Look for the DocumentUpdater mutex.
- Examine the SoftwareMemory directory for unusual files or activity.
The report also includes a YARA rule, three sample hashes and one command server address.