Link to auto-download of a suspicious file type (unsolicited)

calendar Apr 25, 2024  ·
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A link in the body of the email downloads a suspicious file type (or embedded file) such as an LNK, JS, or VBA.

Recursively explodes auto-downloaded files within archives to detect these file types.

This technique has been used by known threat actors in the wild.

Sublime rule (View on GitHub)

 1name: "Link to auto-download of a suspicious file type (unsolicited)"
 2description: |
 3  A link in the body of the email downloads a suspicious file type (or embedded file) such as an LNK, JS, or VBA.
 4
 5  Recursively explodes auto-downloaded files within archives to detect these file types.
 6
 7  This technique has been used by known threat actors in the wild.  
 8type: "rule"
 9references:
10  - "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2021/11/11/html-smuggling-surges-highly-evasive-loader-technique-increasingly-used-in-banking-malware-targeted-attacks/"
11  - "https://twitter.com/MsftSecIntel/status/1418706920152522753"
12  - "https://sandbox.sublimesecurity.com?id=e586c888-4426-41dd-a1be-5a13852075ef"
13severity: "medium"
14source: |
15  type.inbound
16  and any(body.links,
17          any(ml.link_analysis(.).files_downloaded,
18              any(file.explode(.),
19                  (
20                    // look for files in encrypted zips.
21                    // if password cracking the zip wasn't
22                    // successful, our only opportunity to look
23                    // for suspicious file types is here under
24                    // .zip.attempted_files
25                    "encrypted_zip" in .flavors.yara
26                    and any(.scan.zip.attempted_files,
27                            strings.ilike(., "*.???*.exe", "*.lnk", "*.js", "*.vba", "*.vbs", "*.vbe")
28                    )
29                  )
30                  // for both non-encrypted zips and encrypted zips
31                  // that were successfully cracked
32                  or .file_extension in ("lnk", "js", "vba", "vbs", "vbe")
33                  or strings.ilike(.file_name, "*.???*.exe")
34              )
35          )
36  )
37  and (
38    not profile.by_sender().solicited
39    or (
40      profile.by_sender().any_messages_malicious_or_spam
41      and not profile.by_sender().any_false_positives
42    )
43  )  
44attack_types:
45  - "Malware/Ransomware"
46tactics_and_techniques:
47  - "Encryption"
48  - "Evasion"
49  - "LNK"
50  - "Social engineering"
51detection_methods:
52  - "Archive analysis"
53  - "File analysis"
54  - "Sender analysis"
55  - "URL analysis"
56  - "YARA"
57id: "67ae2152-ac52-52d4-bec2-6bbc4a488df9"
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