Thank you for downloading. Fixed wrong installation path for 32-bit Win VST plugin version Version 1.6 (Nov 18, 2013) - Licenser update (V3): Fixes and new features - Prevent wrong mouse wheel behavior in 32-bit hosts on 64-bit Windows (Windows bug) (87, 95, 156) - Fixed keyboard events after text input in Pro Tools Windows (325) - Fixed parameter value display in VST3. EQuity v1.0.0 WiN MAC Team R2R 03 Mar 2021 WiN: 4.0MB OSX: 7.2MB.: AU, VST2, VST3, x64, STANDALONE.: Six Band Visual Equalizer. EQuity is a six band visual.
(Photo source: Pony Strike: Global Offense by FilipinoNinja95)
We recently found Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: Go) hacks on macOS that is also a trojan that could mine CryptoCurrencies without user consent.
According to VirusTotal Retrohunt, the threat is in the wild since the beginning of July 2017.
Warning: At the time of this writing, all URLs are live.
Entry Point: Vlone.cc Portal
The entry point is vlone.cc portal, where a user can Register, Login and Download for free the hack installer.
The domain name was registered through eNom in April 2017, 14th, and resolves to a shared web host at namecheap:
HTTPS certificate was delivered by COMODO PositiveSSL in June 2017, 27th.
When logged in, members can browse the Prices page and purchase a premium subscription for 1, 3 or 6 months through Selly:
Members download the same archive of the free installer than guests:
According to the user GET query value, members count in August 2017, 22nd, is nearly two thousand.
We don’t know if the private installer of the hack also installs the mining software without user consent.
Binaries analysis
It’s all C++ Standard Library code. Network connections use libcurl and secure HTTPS protocol.
All executables, but the miner CLI, require super-user privileges, so the user must run the installer with sudo:
The main binary hides itself as Dynamic Web TWAIN, an online document scanning platform.
vHook
vHook is the installer. It is packed with UPX, probably to avoid user analysis and bypass some security products.
It is a command line interface:
With a valid member account, it downloads and extracts bootstrap.dylib and vhook.dylib from https://vlone.cc/portal/gateway.php as assets.zip to /Library/Application Support/:
It loads bootstrap.dylib from osxinj project. If Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is running, it downloads and extracts some fonts (https://vlone.cc/fontfix.zip as vlone.zip to /Library/Fonts/), and injects vhook.dylib into csgo_osx64 process.
It could be a perfect deal for a CS: GO user, but it turns out vHook also sneaky downloads and extracts https://vlone.cc/abc/assets/asset.zip as fonts.zip to /var/, changes directory to /var and runs sudo ./helper &.
It then kills Terminal application to hide the detached process output.
helper
helper is the miner downloader dropper. It is also packed with UPX.
It first asks the C&C server for the name of the binary to execute upon download:
It downloads https://www.vlone.cc/abc/assets/b.zip as /b.zip, extracts its contents to /var/.log/, changes directory to /var/.log/ and runs sudo ./com.dynamsoft.WebHelper &.
At the time of this writing, https://www.vlone.cc/abc/assets/b.zip URL response is a File Not Found 404 error code, but https://www.vlone.cc/abc/assets/bz.zip URL is live and send the expected archive.
com.dynamsoft.WebHelper
com.dynamsoft.WebHelper is the miner downloader. Despite the name, it is not related to Dynamsoft.
It starts by downloading and extracting:
WebTwainServicefromhttps://www.vlone.cc/abc/assets/d.zipto/var/.log/com.dynamsoft.WebTwainService.plistfromhttps://www.vlone.cc/abc/assets/p.zipto/Library/LaunchDaemons/
It loads the daemon, sends computer unique identifier (UUID) and its version to C&C server, and checks if it meetsRequirements(), i.e. running as root and not in a debugger:
It then sleeps for one hour. If one is in a hurry, he or she can cut out the nap easily:
Once rested, it sends commands to C&C server every minute to ask if it should mine and update or kill itself:
Every minute, it also creates or updates the mining thread to:
- download and extract
https://www.vlone.cc/abc/assets/helper.zipto/var/.trash/.assets/ - get miner settings (maximum core number, currency, email address)
- check if Activity Monitor is running
- check if it is already mining
- check if it should stop mining
- run
cd /var/.trash/.assets/; ./com.apple.SafariHelperwith appropriate arguments
Win Osx
WebTwainService
WebTwainService tries to take care of com.dynamsoft.webhelper persistency. It is again packed with UPX.
It sets its current directory to /var/.log and runs sudo ./com.dynamsoft.webhelper &, then recursively sleeps for one hour…
minergate-cli
com.apple.SafariHelper actually is the official MinerGateCLI v4.04:
It is written in Qt, so it comes with frameworks:
It takes as CPU as requested by com.dynamsoft.WebHelper so the user enjoys the delight of computer’s fans background music:
In this example, it is mining Monero (XMR) with all virtual machine cores (two: 200.0%).
Current MinerGate email address is pwnedboi@protonmail.com, and xxanax420@gmail.com email address was also found hardcoded in another sample.
Maximum core number, CryptoCurrency and email address are provided by com.dynamsoft.WebHelper and the C&C server:
vLoader
Win Forms Osx
We finally ended up with vLoader, the private installer, and, once more, it is packed with UPX.
It does many checks against the C&C server:
They are trivial to bypass for anyone who can force a conditional jump:
Private payloads are downloaded and extracted to /var/.old/:
boots.dylibfromhttp://vlone.cc/clear/sadmio.zip.uhdexter.dylibfromhttp://vlone.cc/clear/getout.zip
Compared to the free injected library, the private hook is very similar:
vLoader doesn’t uninstall any of the free version naughty payloads.
Finn and ponies
We didn’t spend too much time reverse engineering vhook.dylib. The source code was available on GitHub (archive) and videos of the hack are also available on YouTube here and there.
GitHub owner of the vHook project is fetusfinn (original author is ViKiNG) and we coincidentally found debugger symbols matching Finn username in GitHub’s libvHook.dylib and in all analyzed binaries:
This is how we know Finn’s project name is pwnednet. Shortened to pwnet, it sounds like poney in French, i.e. pony in English and, everybody loves ponies, so here you have OSX.Pwnet.A!
There also is a reference to someone named Jennifer Johansson in Xcode user data:
We didn’t take the time to ask pwned’s boyfriend on Discord if Finn is much into ponies:
But, just in case, here is a Dutch Pony for Finn and her team.
Winosx Pro
From Hackestria with ❤
EDIT: added vLoader on 2017/08/29.
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