A sophisticated phishing campaign was identified distributing multiple malware families through a multi-stage loader utilizing steganography and fileless techniques. The infection chain begins with archive attachments containing files disguised as financial documents, primarily targeting Indian organizations using names related to GST, NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS transactions. The loader employs in-memory execution to avoid disk-based artifacts and uses embedded .NET Bitmap objects to conceal payloads. Various malware families have been deployed including Remcos RAT, Agent Tesla, MassLogger, Phantom Stealer, Dark Cloud, Red Line Stealer, Snake keyloggers, Formbook, and xworm. The final payloads establish persistence through registry Run keys, perform process hollowing, steal browser credentials, record audio and webcam, and exfiltrate data to command-and-control infrastructure. The campaign exhibits characteristics of a loader-as-a-service operation serving multiple threat actors globally.
A sophisticated variant of the Masslogger credential stealer malware has been identified spreading through .VBE files. This multi-stage fileless malware heavily relies on Windows Registry to store and execute its malicious payload. The infection begins with a .VBE file, likely distributed via spam email or drive-by downloads. The malware sets up registry keys for storing commands, stager configurations, and the final payload. It establishes persistence through a scheduled task and uses techniques to simulate user input. The malware employs multiple stagers to decode and load the final Masslogger payload, which is injected into the AddInProcess32.exe process. The payload targets multiple web browsers and email clients to steal credentials and sensitive information, with capabilities including keylogging, screen capture, and data exfiltration via FTP, SMTP, or Telegram.
