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Malware Analysis Report - VIBE Bot

Executive Summary

The analyzed ELF binary (SHA256: e28abfb7868c987e42c3d460434961db17841166342fa7c24db35f37af341586) is a sophisticated botnet client designed for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The malware connects to a command-and-control (C&C) server to receive attack instructions and can execute multiple types of network floods.

Verdict: MALICIOUS

Key Findings

1. C&C Infrastructure

  • Primary C&C Domain: yn.eoow.cn (encrypted with XOR 0x2E)
  • Authentication Token: "Engine" (encrypted)
  • C&C Port: 51975 (0xCAF7)
  • DNS Servers Used: 8.8.8.8 and 53.0.0.2
  • Fallback IP: 191.826.803 (initial hardcoded value)

2. Attack Capabilities

The malware supports 11 different DDoS attack methods:

  1. TCP SYN Flood - Overwhelms targets with TCP SYN packets
  2. UDP Flood - Generic UDP packet flooding
  3. NUDP (New UDP) - Enhanced UDP flooding variant
  4. VSE Attack - Valve Source Engine query flood
  5. GRE IP Flood - Generic Routing Encapsulation flood
  6. TCP ACK Flood - Two variants for ACK packet flooding
  7. TCP SACK2 - Selective Acknowledgment exploit
  8. STD HEX UDP - Standard hexadecimal UDP flood
  9. Socket Flood - Raw socket flooding
  10. WRA Flood - Wrapper flood attack

3. Evasion Techniques

  • Process Name Disguise: Renames itself to "httpd" to appear legitimate
  • Anti-Debugging: Uses ptrace to prevent debugger attachment
  • Signal Handling: Ignores/handles termination signals (SIGTERM, SIGINT, etc.)
  • Binary Self-Deletion: Attempts to delete itself from disk after execution
  • Encrypted Configuration: C&C details are XOR encrypted (key: 0x2E)
  • Memory Obfuscation: Re-encrypts sensitive data after use

4. Persistence & Defense

  • Killer Module: Terminates competing malware and security tools
  • Process Monitoring: Scans /proc/*/exe and /proc/*/maps for targets
  • Fork Bomb Protection: Uses prctl to ensure child processes die with parent
  • Network Resilience: Implements retry logic with exponential backoff

5. Communication Protocol

  • Uses custom binary protocol over TCP
  • Message format: [2-byte length][payload]
  • Implements keepalive mechanism (every 6 cycles)
  • Non-blocking sockets with select() for multiplexing

Technical Details

Entry Point Analysis

The malware's main function (VIBE_main_botnet_client) performs the following initialization:

  1. Sets up anti-termination signal handlers
  2. Implements anti-debugging protection
  3. Deletes the original binary from disk
  4. Forks to background and detaches from terminal
  5. Initializes attack method table
  6. Spawns killer process
  7. Enters main C&C communication loop

Attack Implementation

Each attack method is implemented as a separate function that:

  • Parses attack parameters (target IP, port, duration, packet size)
  • Creates raw sockets
  • Generates malformed packets with spoofed source addresses
  • Sends packets in a tight loop to maximize bandwidth usage

C&C Communication Flow

  1. Decrypt C&C domain from configuration
  2. Resolve domain using public DNS servers
  3. Connect to C&C server
  4. Authenticate with "Engine" token
  5. Receive attack commands
  6. Execute specified attack method
  7. Maintain connection with periodic keepalives

Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)

Network

  • C&C Domain: yn.eoow.cn
  • C&C Port: 51975
  • DNS queries to 8.8.8.8 and 53.0.0.2
  • Large volumes of malformed TCP/UDP traffic
  • Process name "httpd" making unusual network connections

Host

  • Binary hash: e28abfb7868c987e42c3d460434961db17841166342fa7c24db35f37af341586
  • Process masquerading as "httpd"
  • Attempts to read /proc/*/exe and /proc/*/maps
  • Self-deletion behavior
  • Anti-debugging via ptrace

Behavioral

  • Immediate fork and background execution
  • Terminal detachment (setsid)
  • Closing of stdin/stdout/stderr
  • High CPU/network usage during attacks
  • Killing of security tools and competing malware

Conclusion

This is a professional-grade DDoS botnet client with sophisticated evasion capabilities and multiple attack vectors. The malware is designed to be part of a larger botnet infrastructure, likely used for DDoS-for-hire services or coordinated attacks. The presence of anti-analysis techniques, encrypted configuration, and process hiding mechanisms indicate a well-developed threat actor.

Recommendations

  1. Block the C&C domain yn.eoow.cn at network perimeter
  2. Monitor for processes named "httpd" making unusual network connections
  3. Implement rate limiting and DDoS protection measures
  4. Deploy endpoint detection focusing on:
    • Process name spoofing
    • Anti-debugging behavior
    • Unusual /proc filesystem access
    • Self-deletion patterns
  5. Use the provided hash for file-based detection
  6. Monitor DNS queries to 8.8.8.8 from unusual processes

Analysis completed on: [Current Date] Total analysis time: Approximately 35 minutes

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    Malware Analysis Report - VIBE Bot | Claude