MAR-10271944-2.v1 – North Korean Trojan: ARTFULPIE | CISA
Published: 2020-02-14 · Archived: 2026-04-05 19:55:26 UTC
Notification
This report is provided "as is" for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not
provide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained herein. The DHS does not endorse any commercial
product or service referenced in this bulletin or otherwise.
This document is marked TLP:WHITE--Disclosure is not limited. Sources may use TLP:WHITE when information carries
minimal or no foreseeable risk of misuse, in accordance with applicable rules and procedures for public release. Subject to
standard copyright rules, TLP:WHITE information may be distributed without restriction. For more information on the
Traffic Light Protocol (TLP), see http://www.us-cert.gov/tlp.
Summary
Description
This Malware Analysis Report (MAR) is the result of analytic efforts between Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Defense (DoD). Working with U.S. Government partners,
DHS, FBI, and DoD identified Trojan malware variants used by the North Korean government. This malware variant has
been identified as ARTFULPIE. The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as
HIDDEN COBRA. For more information on HIDDEN COBRA activity, visit https[:]//www[.]us-cert.gov/hiddencobra.
DHS, FBI, and DoD are distributing this MAR to enable network defense and reduce exposure to North Korean government
malicious cyber activity.
This MAR includes malware descriptions related to HIDDEN COBRA, suggested response actions and recommended
mitigation techniques. Users or administrators should flag activity associated with the malware and report the activity to the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) or the FBI Cyber Watch (CyWatch), and give the activity the
highest priority for enhanced mitigation.
This report looks at an implant that performs downloading and in-memory loading and execution of a DLL from a
hardcoded url.
For a downloadable copy of IOCs, see MAR-10271944-2.v1.stix.
Submitted Files (1)
606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c (mega.exe.exe)
IPs (1)
193.56.28.103
Findings
606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c
Tags
downloadertrojan
Details
Name mega.exe.exe
Size 83968 bytes
Type PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows
MD5 2d92116440edef4190279a043af6794b
SHA1 eb2eb432445b3dcf6483e7d5f670acb94a8bab70
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e
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SHA256 606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c
SHA512 ef849cb69d785bdcef98127abed65e0acc749f9748753d04105818e68ec5e37e068f8c4a7146b5238c5a6bf75712b198935c356b0fe0bb08
ssdeep 1536:FNtzOnGK/pmGC4ISgyCOkaPeFAuf+jXQ1JsWODjgncdw1DCaAqGgo:FNqpmGC7S1rJPQAFXKqDjgWwBCaAq3o
Entropy 6.334481
Antivirus
Avira HEUR/AGEN.1031247
ByteHero Trojan.Win32.Heur.098
Symantec Heur.AdvML.B
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
PE Metadata
Compile Date 2019-06-14 05:41:48-04:00
Import Hash 8079a02c54cad285e36d60589737d1e3
PE Sections
MD5 Name Raw Size Entropy
33371b670b629e6e418f34546c9b5eda header 1024 2.672349
d7c48cf554eae1f467a10903d05d84fc .text 51712 6.635530
4b19a4f766cd6f95bd6b36fab052c916 .rdata 24064 4.908608
9ccfa1efb02e96faf15883c5d135e6f9 .data 2560 1.986341
c970c10a1e848ee974b87923ecbe6a2f .rsrc 512 4.706155
51b1d3e64f81f0cc54f348474457a1d4 .reloc 4096 6.403055
Packers/Compilers/Cryptors
Relationships
606c6000f3... Connected_To 193.56.28.103
Description
The sample is a downloader/loader that performs the following steps:
Downloads the hardcoded URL hxxp[:]//193[.]56[.]28[.]103:88/xampp/thinkmeter[.]dll into memory using the user-agent
string: "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 9.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/5.0)".
Loads the .dll into its own address space manually (fully in memory).
Calls the .dll’s entry-point.
193.56.28.103
Tags
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e
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command-and-control
URLs
193.56.28.103:88/xampp/thinkmeter.dll
Ports
88 TCP
Relationships
193.56.28.103 Connected_From 606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c
Relationship Summary
606c6000f3... Connected_To 193.56.28.103
193.56.28.103 Connected_From 606c6000f36dc69fefc6df828e1ac9c5529a71a62b99f5df55463606c4c9689c
Recommendations
CISA recommends that users and administrators consider using the following best practices to strengthen the security
posture of their organization's systems. Any configuration changes should be reviewed by system owners and administrators
prior to implementation to avoid unwanted impacts.
Maintain up-to-date antivirus signatures and engines.
Keep operating system patches up-to-date.
Disable File and Printer sharing services. If these services are required, use strong passwords or Active Directory
authentication.
Restrict users' ability (permissions) to install and run unwanted software applications. Do not add users to the local
administrators group unless required.
Enforce a strong password policy and implement regular password changes.
Exercise caution when opening e-mail attachments even if the attachment is expected and the sender appears to be
known.
Enable a personal firewall on agency workstations, configured to deny unsolicited connection requests.
Disable unnecessary services on agency workstations and servers.
Scan for and remove suspicious e-mail attachments; ensure the scanned attachment is its "true file type" (i.e., the
extension matches the file header).
Monitor users' web browsing habits; restrict access to sites with unfavorable content.
Exercise caution when using removable media (e.g., USB thumb drives, external drives, CDs, etc.).
Scan all software downloaded from the Internet prior to executing.
Maintain situational awareness of the latest threats and implement appropriate Access Control Lists (ACLs).
Additional information on malware incident prevention and handling can be found in National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-83, "Guide to Malware Incident Prevention & Handling for Desktops and
Laptops".
Contact Information
Document FAQ
What is a MIFR? A Malware Initial Findings Report (MIFR) is intended to provide organizations with malware analysis in
a timely manner. In most instances this report will provide initial indicators for computer and network defense. To request
additional analysis, please contact CISA and provide information regarding the level of desired analysis.
What is a MAR? A Malware Analysis Report (MAR) is intended to provide organizations with more detailed malware
analysis acquired via manual reverse engineering. To request additional analysis, please contact CISA and provide
information regarding the level of desired analysis.
Can I edit this document? This document is not to be edited in any way by recipients. All comments or questions related to
this document should be directed to the CISA at 1-844-Say-CISA or contact@mail.cisa.dhs.gov .
Can I submit malware to CISA? Malware samples can be submitted via three methods:
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e
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Web: https://malware.us-cert.gov
E-Mail: submit@malware.us-cert.gov
FTP: ftp.malware.us-cert.gov (anonymous)
CISA encourages you to report any suspicious activity, including cybersecurity incidents, possible malicious code, software
vulnerabilities, and phishing-related scams. Reporting forms can be found on CISA's homepage at www.us-cert.gov.
Source: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar20-045e
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