A new phishing campaign is spreading the Remcos Remote Access Trojan (RAT) through DBatLoader. It employs User Account Control (UAC) bypass, obfuscated scripts, Living Off the Land Binaries (LOLBAS) abuse, and persistence mechanisms.

Here’s an analysis of the infection chain, key techniques, and detection tips.

How the Attack Works

To see how the attack unfolds, we analyzed the sample inside ANY.RUN’s Interactive Sandbox.

View full execution and analysis

The attack likely starts with a phishing email containing an archive.

*Analysis of the malicious sample inside ANY.RUN’s Interactive Sandbox*

Inside it, there is a malicious executable named “FAKTURA”, which deploys DBatLoader on the system.

Use of .pif Files for Disguise and UAC Bypass

DBatLoader uses .pif (Program Information File) files as a method of disguise and execution.

Originally intended for configuring how DOS-based programs should run in early Windows systems, .pif files have become obsolete for legitimate use. However, they are still executable on modern Windows versions, making them useful for attackers.

Windows treats .pif files similarly to .exe files. When executed, they can run without triggering warning dialogs, depending on system configuration.

*Trailing spaces allow attackers to abuse Windows’s folder name handling*

In the analysis, the malicious alpha.pif (a Portable Executable file) bypassed UAC by creating fake directories like “C:\Windows “ (note the empty space), exploiting Windows’s folder name handling to gain elevated privileges.

Evasion and Persistence: Ping Command and Scheduled Task

One observed command line uses PING.EXE to ping the local loopback address (127.0.0.1) ten times. While legitimate programs may use this to test network connectivity by sending ICMP echo requests, malware like DBatLoader uses it to introduce artificial delays for time-based evasion.

*ANY.RUN flags PING.EXE activity and identifies it as a delay simulation*

In some cases, this technique can also be repurposed for remote system discovery.

The malicious svchost.pif file launched NEO.cmd through CMD, which then executed extrac32.exe to add a specific path to Windows Defender’s exclusion list, allowing it to evade further detection.

*The sandbox highlights evasion and persistence activities in the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix*

To maintain persistence and survive following reboots, DBatLoader abuses a scheduled task to trigger a Cmwdnsyn.url file, which launches a .pif dropper.

Obfuscation and Remcos Deployment

*Obfuscation complicates the analysis for security professionals*

The loader used .cmd files obfuscated with BatCloak to download and run Remcos.

*The sandbox flags the injected process and detects Remcos*

Remcos injects into trusted system processes SndVol.exe, colorcpl.exe or others, varying on each new instance, blending in with the rest of the processes.

Spot Similar Attacks with Proactive Sandbox Analysis

Multi-stage attacks that utilize different means of staying hidden on the system are hard to identify with standard signature-based solutions. The most effective way to ensure detection is to proactively detonate the suspicious files inside the safe, virtual environment of a malware sandbox.

ANY.RUN’s Interactive Sandbox allows security teams to conduct fast and in-depth analysis of malware and phishing attacks to maximize the detection rate. The service offers fully interactive cloud-based VMs supporting Windows, Android, and Linux systems.

Accelerate Threat Analysis: The sandbox detects malware strains in under 40 seconds, reducing incident investigation time and boosting SOC productivity.

Keep Your Infrastructure Safe: Analyze suspicious files and URLs in a cloud-based, isolated environment to eliminate the risk of compromising corporate infrastructure.

Boost Team Collaboration: Configure access levels, track productivity, and coordinate the team’s work on threat analysis.

Improve Cost-Effectiveness: Minimize financial losses with faster threat analysis and detection that supercharges response and containment.

Analysts can monitor unusual file paths, track processes for unexpected activity, analyze network connections, and, most importantly, manually engage with the system and threats.

The sandbox flags all the malicious behaviors and generates a detailed report with IOCs that can be adapted for detection rules and endpoint security improvement.

About ANY.RUN

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