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Rootkit:W32/HacDef

First posted on 23 June 2010.
Source: SecurityHome

Aliases :

There are no other names known for Rootkit:W32/HacDef.

Explanation :

A program or set of programs which hides itself by subverting or evading the computer's security mechanisms, then allows remote users to secretly control the computer's operating system.

Additional DetailsRootkit:W232/HacDef is the detection name for Hacker Defender, a user-mode rootkit that modifies several Windows and Native API functions to allow it to hide information from other applications.

Hacker Defender also implements a backdoor and port redirector that operates through TCP ports opened by existing services. This means it is not possible to find the hidden backdoor through traditional means, like launching a remote port scan against the compromised machine.

Hacker Defender is one of the most widely deployed rootkits in the wild. it is publicly available in both in binary and source code format. There also exist private versions which have been customized the attacker's demands. These private rootkits might include features such as:

€ Logoner for collecting user logon credentials € Internal inifile for embedding the inifile into the executable € Antidetection engine for circumventing modern rootkit detectors
The technical information below is based on the public versions.

Installation

Hacker Defender consists of two files: one executable file (.exe) and one configuration file (.ini). The configuration file is used to define the criteria for hiding items and to specify how certain rootkit components will be named when they are installed into the system.

The rootkit requires administrative privileges to install. To do so, it installs itself as a service, which will start automatically during system startup.

In addition, Hacker Defender installs and loads a kernel-mode driver that implements two support functions utilized by the user-mode components. First, it adds system privileges into every process defined as a root process in the configuration file. Second, it helps the rootkit’s user-mode components identify any handle pointing to a hidden object.

Infection

On execution, Hacker Defender infects every running process by allocating memory from the remote process and writing the payload directly into it. It then installs the inline hooks by patching function entry points with relative jumps pointing to the payload. When the infected process dynamically loads any of the above-mentioned DLLs or creates a new process, the payload makes sure they will also get infected.

To successfully infect a system, the rootkit has to be executed with administrative privileges.

Stealth

Hacker Defender allows the intruder to hide the following items to conceal information from other user-mode applications:

€ Files € Processes € Registry keys and values € System services and drivers € Allocated memory € Handles € Inbound and outbound TCP connections
Criteria for the hidden items are defined in the configuration file.

Hacker Defender hides information by modifying the execution path of the following hooked Windows and Native API functions :

Ntdll.dll:
€ NtQuerySystemInformation € NtOpenProcess € NtQueryDirectoryFile € NtVdmControl € NtCreateFile € NtOpenFile € NtQueryVolumeInformationFile € NtEnumerateKey € NtEnumerateValueKey € NtReadVirtualMemory € NtDeviceIoControlFile € NtResumeThread € LdrInitializeThunk € LdrLoadDll
Kernel32.dll:
€ ReadFile
AdvApi32.dll:
€ EnumServiceGroupW € EnumServicesStatusExW € EnumServicesStatusExA € EnumServicesStatusA
Ws2_32.dll:
€ Recv € WSARecv
This technique allows the rootkit to alter data passing to and from the hooked function

Registry

During installation the rootkit drops a driver (.sys) to the same directory, loads it and creates two registry keys:

€ HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\[service_name] € HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\[driver_name]
In addition, Hacker Defender makes sure it will be executed also in safe mode by adding the following registry keys:

€ HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\[service_name] € HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\[service_name]
It should be noted that strings [service_name] and [driver_name] can be defined by the intruder in the configuration file. In addition, common tools will not be able to show the registry keys if the rootkit is active.

Last update 23 June 2010

 

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