Cyberdudebivash

Executive Summary

• Threat name: Shai-Hulud — a newly identified self-replicating malware family.
• Category: Worm / self-propagating malware with hybrid traits (worm + ransomware).
• Propagation: Exploits network misconfigs, lateral movement via SMB/RDP/SSH, plus malicious document/email vectors.
• Risks: Rapid spread across enterprise networks, privilege escalation, potential data destruction/encryption.
• Notable trait: Payload re-seeds itself persistently, even after partial clean-up.
• Action now: Segment networks, apply strict credential hygiene, implement EDR policies for worm heuristics, patch exposed services, and prepare incident response playbooks.

Technical Overview

• Infection vector: phishing attachments, malicious macros, weaponized PDF/Office docs.
• Self-replication:
  • Scans subnets for open ports (445/3389/22).
  • Brute-forces weak creds and re-deploys binary.
  • Creates scheduled tasks / systemd services for persistence.
• Payload actions:
  • Keylogging + credential harvesting.
  • Optional ransomware module encrypts critical files.
  • Backdoor channel via HTTP(S) or DNS tunneling.
• Resilience: kills AV/EDR processes, mutates file hashes, re-seeds itself from infected peers.

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

• Initial Access: Phishing (T1566), Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190).
• Execution: User Execution (T1204), Command-Line Interface (T1059).
• Persistence: Scheduled Task/Job (T1053), Systemd Service (Linux).
• Privilege Escalation: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068).
• Lateral Movement: SMB/Windows Admin Shares (T1021.002), SSH (T1021.004).
• Impact: Data Encrypted for Impact (T1486).

Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)

Files/Hashes (samples):

• shaihulud.dll
• wormloader.exe
• /tmp/.shaihulud

Network:

• Outbound traffic to domains with “sandworm[.]” or “arrakis[.]” strings.
• Repeated DNS queries for TXT records (used for C2).

Behavioral:

• Rapid creation of scheduled tasks across multiple endpoints.
• Sudden spike in SMB/SSH login failures followed by successes.
• EDR/AV tamper attempts.

Threat Hunting Playbook

Splunk Query — Detect abnormal SMB brute force

index=wineventlog EventCode=4625 OR EventCode=4624 
| stats count by src_ip, dest_host, user
| where count > 100 within 5 minutes

Elastic Detection Rule

event.dataset:"authentication" AND (event.outcome:"failure" OR event.outcome:"success")
AND service.name:"smb"

Sigma Rule (EDR Tampering)

title: Shai-Hulud Malware AV/EDR Tamper
logsource: windows
detection:
  selection:
    EventID: 7036
    ServiceName|contains:
      - "Defender"
      - "EDR"
  condition: selection
level: high

Response & Containment

1. Isolate infected hosts immediately.
2. Block known IoCs at firewall/proxy.
3. Rotate credentials for compromised accounts.
4. Rebuild hosts (due to persistence).
5. Check backups (ensure clean restore points).
6. Communicate & escalate — legal, compliance, insurance.

Long-Term Mitigation

• Network segmentation (stop worm propagation).
• MFA for remote access (VPN/RDP/SSH).
• Disable SMBv1; restrict RDP exposure.
• Continuous vulnerability patching.
• Endpoint hardening with behavioral EDR rules.
• Regular incident response exercises simulating worm outbreaks.

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