Vulnerability Analysis

Hill Saturday Malware Analysis : Open Dir -> Obfuscated Python -> DONUT Launcher -> XWorm

Just some quick malware analysis on a free Saturday. I was just chilling in the morning, reading twitter, and this post from Justin Elze caught my eye:

It was perfect because I was indeed bored 😉

It was an opendir with a few interesting files:

pdf.bat                 BAT-File    3,179 Bytes         Tue, 10 Sep 2024 15:01:49 GMT
python-3.12.5-amd64.exe EXE-File    26,508,648 Bytes    Wed, 28 Aug 2024 18:05:07 GMT
sg.py                   PY-File     4,082,946 Bytes     Wed, 04 Sep 2024 01:22:18 GMT
tx.py                   PY-File     4,082,936 Bytes     Tue, 03 Sep 2024 12:04:59 GMT
update.cmd              CMD-File    168 Bytes           Fri, 06 Sep 2024 16:37:29 GMT

pdf.bat was just a launcher for update.cmd with some interesting social engineering aspect, it also established persistence by adding update.cmd to startup files. update.cmd simply executed sg.py and tx.py with python.

I downloaded entire folder and proceeded to analyze it. After opening sg.py in the text editor, it turned out it’s not a standard python code but a compiled python bytecode.

Ok, shouldn’t be a big issue, there is this great online decompiler that I highly recommend there’s also if you like something that runs offline.

After dumping these files into pylingual I saw the issue. Yes it managed to decompile them but the code was quite obviously obfuscated.

For more information click here.

Varshini

Varshini is a Cyber Security expert in Threat Analysis, Vulnerability Assessment, and Research. Passionate about staying ahead of emerging Threats and Technologies.

Recent Posts

How to Add User to Sudoers on Ubuntu Easily

Managing administrative access properly is essential for every Linux system. When you Add User Sudoers…

2 hours ago

Install Google Chrome on Ubuntu in Minutes

Installing Google Chrome on Ubuntu systems is a simple process that gives users access to…

4 hours ago

LAMP Stack Ubuntu 26.04 Installation Guide

Setting up a LAMP Stack Ubuntu server is one of the fastest ways to host…

15 hours ago

How to Change User Password in Ubuntu Quickly and Securely

Keeping your system credentials updated is one of the simplest ways to improve Linux security.…

22 hours ago

Ubuntu Server Setup Guide for Beginners in 2026

A fresh Linux VPS may look ready to use immediately, but skipping the initial security…

1 day ago

How to Install LEMP Stack on Ubuntu 26.04 for Beginners

If you want to host dynamic PHP websites or applications like WordPress, Laravel, or Magento,…

1 day ago