cometlogger

Problem

Proprietary ReversingLabs malware detection algorithms have determined that the software package contains one or more malicious components. The detection was made by either a static byte signature, software component identity, or a complete file hash. This malware detection method is considered highly accurate, and can typically attribute malware to previously discovered software supply chain attacks. It is common to have multiple supply chain attack artifacts that relate to a single malware incident.

Problem

Threat researchers have manually inspected the software package and determined that it contains one or more malicious files. The detection was made by a hash-based file reputation lookup. This malware detection method is considered highly accurate, and can typically identify the malware family by name.

Problem

Software components contain executable code that performs actions implemented during its development. These actions are called behaviors. In the analysis report, behaviors are presented as human-readable descriptions that best match the underlying code intent. While most behaviors are benign, some are exclusively used by malicious software with the intent to cause harm. When a software package matches behavior traits of malicious software, it becomes flagged by security solutions. It is highly likely that the software package was tampered with by a malicious actor or a rogue insider. Detected threat type matches the behaviors typically exhibited by the infostealer malware profile. Infostealers are commonly used to steal sensitive user data such as stored login details, financial information, and other personally identifiable information.

Problem

Software components contain executable code that performs actions implemented during its development. These actions are called behaviors. In the analysis report, behaviors are presented as human-readable descriptions that best match the underlying code intent. Python Package Index (PyPI) repository is often abused by threat actors to publish software packages that exhibit malicious behaviors. Malware authors use numerous tactics to lure developers into including malicious PyPI packages in their software projects. Most malicious packages published on PyPI target developers and their workstations. However, some are designed to activate only when deployed in the end-user environment. Both types of Python malicious packages are detected by proprietary ReversingLabs threat hunting algorithms. This detection method is considered proactive, and it is based on Machine Learning (ML) algorithms that can detect novel malware. The detection is strongly influenced by behaviors that software components exhibit. Behaviors similar to previously discovered malware and software supply chain attacks may cause some otherwise benign software packages to be detected by this policy.

Problem

Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are structured addresses that point to locations and assets on the internet. URLs allow software developers to build complex applications that exchange data with servers that can be hosted in multiple geographical regions. URLs can commonly be found embedded in documentation, configuration files, source code and compiled binaries. Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital currency that uses peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments on the web. Bitcoin exchanges allow their customers to trade cryptocurrencies or digital currencies for other assets, such as conventional fiat money or other digital currencies. Financially motivated actors often include references to cryptocurrency exchanges in their code. Ransomware victims are instructed to visit Bitcoin exchanges to acquire the digital currency. Bitcoin is the most common payment method accepted by attackers in exchange for decrypting the user-generated data that is held for ransom. While presence of Bitcoin exchange service references does not imply malicious intent, all of its uses in a software package should be documented and approved. Only select applications should consider keeping track of Bitcoin exchange websites.

Problem

Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are structured addresses that point to locations and assets on the internet. URLs allow software developers to build complex applications that exchange data with servers that can be hosted in multiple geographical regions. URLs can commonly be found embedded in documentation, configuration files, source code and compiled binaries. One or more embedded URLs were discovered to link to raw files hosted on GitHub. Attackers often abuse popular web services to host malicious payloads. Since code-sharing services URLs are typically allowed by security solutions, using them for payload delivery increases the odds that the malicious code will reach the user. While the presence of code-sharing service locations does not imply malicious intent, all of their uses in a software package should be documented and approved. An increasing number of software supply chain attacks in the open source space leverages the GitHub service to deliver malicious payloads.

Problem

Software developers use programming and design knowledge to build reusable software components. Software components are the basic building blocks for modern applications. Software consumed by an enterprise consists of hundreds, and sometimes even thousands of open source components. Software developers publish components they have authored to public repositories. While a new software project is a welcome addition to the open source community, it is not always prudent to indiscriminately use the latest components when building a commercial application. Irrespective of the software quality, the danger of being the first to try out a new project lies in the fact that the software component may contain novel, currently undetected malicious code. Therefore, it is prudent to review software component behaviors and even try out software component in a sandbox, an environment meant for testing untrusted code.

Problem

Software components contain executable code that performs actions implemented during its development. These actions are called behaviors. In the analysis report, behaviors are presented as human-readable descriptions that best match the underlying code intent. While most behaviors are benign, some are commonly abused by malicious software with the intent to cause harm. When a software package shares behavior traits with malicious software, it may become flagged by security solutions. Any detection from security solutions can cause friction for the end-users during software deployment. While the behavior is likely intended by the developer, there is a small chance this detection is true positive, and an early indication of a software supply chain attack.

Problem

Attackers commonly hide their malicious payloads in layers of packing and code obfuscation. Base-encoding is a common data transformation technique used to convert binary payloads into text. Detected software behaviors indicate that the code has the ability to decode and execute Base-encoded data. While presence of dynamic code execution does not imply malicious intent, all of its uses in a software package should be documented and approved. When a software package has behavior traits similar to malicious software, it may become flagged by security solutions. One example of acceptable use for dynamic Base-encoded data execution is transfer of software components over the network.

Problem

Each security solution has a unique footprint that consists of installed files and changes to system configuration. Malicious code often tries to detect security solutions by accessing registry keys and folder locations associated with the software installation. Detecting which security solution is installed plays a key role in selecting the optimal malware infection strategy. When a computer system is protected by a security solution, malware may decide to behave differently. Malware may choose to delay its execution, change infection stages, or even avoid running altogether. While the presence of code that detects security solutions does not necessarily imply malicious intent, all of its uses in a software package should be documented and approved. Only select applications should consider using functions that check for presence of installed security software. One example of acceptable use for such functions is informing the user about possible compatibility issues with the detected security software.