MAR-10322463-3.v1 - AppleJeus: Union Crypto | CISA
Published: 2021-02-17 · Archived: 2026-04-05 22:35:46 UTC
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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 among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Treasury (Treasury) to highlight the cyber
threat to cryptocurrency posed by North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and
provide mitigation recommendations. Working with U.S. government partners, FBI, CISA, and Treasury assess that Lazarus
Group—which these agencies attribute to North Korean state-sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) actors—is
targeting individuals and companies, including cryptocurrency exchanges and financial service companies, through the
dissemination of cryptocurrency trading applications that have been modified to include malware that facilitates theft of
cryptocurrency.
This MAR highlights this cyber threat posed by North Korea and provides detailed indicators of compromise (IOCs) used by
the North Korean government. The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as
HIDDEN COBRA. For more information on other versions of AppleJeus and recommended steps to mitigate this threat, see
Joint Cybersecurity Advisory AA21-048A: AppleJeus: Analysis of North Korea's Cryptocurrency Malware at
https://www.us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/AA21-048A.
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 1 of 18

There have been multiple versions of AppleJeus malware discovered since its initial discovery in August 2018. In most
versions, the malware appears to be from a legitimate-looking cryptocurrency trading company and website, whereby an
unsuspecting individual downloads a third-party application from a website that appears legitimate.
The U.S. Government has identified AppleJeus malware version—Union Crypto—and associated IOCs used by the North
Korean government in AppleJeus operations.
Union Crypto, discovered by a cybersecurity company in December 2019, is a legitimate-looking cryptocurrency trading
software that is marketed and distributed by a company and website—Union Crypto and unioncrypto[.]vip, respectively—
that appear legitimate.
For a downloadable copy of IOCs, see: MAR-10322463-3.v1.stix.
Submitted Files (8)
01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f (UnionCryptoUpdater.exe)
0967d2f122a797661c90bc4fc00d23b4a29f66129611b4aa76f62d8a15854d36 (UnionCryptoTrader.exe)
2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390 (UnionCryptoTrader.dmg)
631ac269925bb72b5ad8f469062309541e1edfec5610a21eecded75a35e65680 (unioncryptoupdater)
6f45a004ad6bb087f733feb618e115fe88164f6db9562cb9b428372c9add75f0 (UnionCryptoTrader)
755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3 (NodeDLL.dll)
af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49 (UnionCryptoTrader.msi)
e3623c2440b692f6b557a862719dc95f41d2e9ad7b560e837d3b59bfe4b8b774 (UnionCryptoSetup.exe)
Domains (1)
unioncrypto.vip
IPs (1)
216.189.150.185
Findings
e3623c2440b692f6b557a862719dc95f41d2e9ad7b560e837d3b59bfe4b8b774
Tags
trojan
Details
Name UnionCryptoSetup.exe
Size 30330443 bytes
Type PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows
MD5 24b3614d5c5e53e40b42b4e057001770
SHA1 b040433fb50d679b2e287d7fcc1667a415fb60b0
SHA256 e3623c2440b692f6b557a862719dc95f41d2e9ad7b560e837d3b59bfe4b8b774
SHA512 55e9c7f59189e395b6b348d9fa8b4b907d0cedd790a33603a49ac857f5a07b205f8787fab0c7a9954e992852e6e5090f3cbf2243e86bb2546
ssdeep 786432:Dj2fi5nBGPBMNekleUtOaZ13vcdkIXX0kfp:+65AP+QAeUtOKvc+c0kR
Entropy 7.984564
Antivirus
Filseclab W32.ELEX.L.erpg.mg
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
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Microsoft Security Essentials Trojan:Win32/UnionCryptoTrader!ibt
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
PE Metadata
Compile Date 2018-09-20 09:08:01-04:00
Import Hash cbc19a820310308f17b0a7c562d044e0
Company Name UnionCrypto Co.Ltd
File Description Union Crypto Trader
Internal Name UnionCryptoTraderSetup.exe
Legal Copyright © UnionCrypto Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Original Filename UnionCryptoTraderSetup.exe
Product Name Union Crypto Trader
Product Version 1.0.23.474
PE Sections
MD5 Name Raw Size Entropy
566abfd43bde6dda239bf28ac9b087ae header 1024 2.960546
764b34cabee1111c9e11c8f836aebafb .text 608256 6.539792
7989312225f01ce65374248a3e73a557 .rdata 189440 4.588598
1ac52732b5e747734a833e523cd8f27f .data 10240 4.418143
3afae9bb129e782e05f70b3416946646 .rsrc 434688 6.340500
d11bf51446bb40b38f82ba6ce1f57dc4 .reloc 162816 2.478756
Packers/Compilers/Cryptors
Microsoft Visual C++ ?.?
Relationships
e3623c2440... Contains af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
Description
This Windows program from the Union Crypto Trader site is a Windows executable. This executable is actually an installer,
and will first extract a temporary MSI named UnionCryptoTrader.msi
(af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49) to the “C:\Users\
<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\{82E4B719-90F7-4BD1-9CF1-56CD777E0C42}” folder, which will be executed by
"UnionCryptoTraderSetup.exe" and deleted after it successfully completes the installation.
unioncrypto.vip
Tags
command-and-control
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
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URLs
hxxps[:]//unioncrypto.vip/update
hxxps[:]//www[.]unioncrypto.vip/download/W6c2dq8By7luMhCmya2v97YeN
Whois
Whois for unioncrypto.vip had the following information on December 8, 2019:
Registrar: NameCheap
Created: June 5, 2019
Expires: June 5, 2020
Updated: June 5, 2019
Relationships
unioncrypto.vip Downloaded_To 2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
unioncrypto.vip Downloaded_To 755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
Description
While this site is no longer available, a download link of
hxxps[:]//www[.]unioncrypto.vip/download/W6c2dq8By7luMhCmya2v97YeN was discovered by a cyber-security
researcher and is recorded on VirusTotal for the OSX version of UnionCryptoTrader. In contrast, open source reporting
disclosed the Windows version may have been downloaded via Telegram, as it was found in a “Telegram Downloads” folder
on an unnamed victim. Union Crypto Trader has a legitimately signed Sectigo SSL certificate, which was “Domain Control
Validated” just as the previous version certificates. .
The domain is registered with NameCheap at the IP address 104.168.167.16 with ASN 54290.
Screenshots
Figure 1 - Screenshot of the Union Crypto Trader website.
af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
Tags
dropper
Details
Name UnionCryptoTrader.msi
Size 14634496 bytes
Type
Composite Document File V2 Document, Little Endian, Os: Windows, Version 10.0, MSI Installer, Number of Characters: 0, Last Save
InstallShield, Number of Words: 0, Title: Union Crypto Trader, Comments: Contact: Your local administrator, Keywords: Installer, Subj
Cryptocurrency Arbitrage Trading Platform, Author: UnionCryptoTrader, Security: 1, Number of Pages: 200, Name of Creating Applica
InstallShield 2018 - Premier Edition with Virtualization Pack 24, Last Saved Time/Date: Tue Aug 6 23:59:58 2019, Create Time/Date: T
23:59:58 2019, Last Printed: Tue Aug 6 23:59:58 2019, Revision Number: {44311F94-C85D-4688-996A-4888F2D32062}, Code page:
x64;1033
MD5 0f03ec3487578cef2398b5b732631fec
SHA1 349fb7c922fba6da4bf5c2a3a9e0735f11068dac
SHA256 af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
SHA512 f2aa24d96daf090f3a29b5536f3ce0a9a59171b7fdb85887bc32ea6c5305e5ee03153b2c402399dd05a28d6fa90a3e979cc8153fd69686b5bb
ssdeep 393216:zDea98QM1lKTmbHJdgXuUSCve2TN4ksIVVYlm6j8ziFS:XeanAKTuHbd9Ye2qpj8Og
Entropy 7.948615
Antivirus
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 4 of 18

TrendMicro TROJ_FR.DEFD7DB1
TrendMicro House Call TROJ_FR.DEFD7DB1
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
Relationships
af4144c1f0... Contained_Within e3623c2440b692f6b557a862719dc95f41d2e9ad7b560e837d3b59bfe4b8b774
af4144c1f0... Contains 01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f
af4144c1f0... Contains 0967d2f122a797661c90bc4fc00d23b4a29f66129611b4aa76f62d8a15854d36
Description
This Windows program is a Windows MSI Installer. The MSI installer will install "UnionCryptoTrader.exe"
(0967d2f122a797661c90bc4fc00d23b4a29f66129611b4aa76f62d8a15854d36) in the “C:\Program
Files\UnionCryptoTrader” folder and also install UnionCryptoUpdater.exe
(01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f) in the “C:\Users\
<username>\AppData\Local\UnionCryptoTrader” folder. Immediately after installation, the installer launches
"UnionCryptoUpdater.exe."
Screenshots
Figure 2 - Screenshot of the UnionCryptoTrader Installation.
0967d2f122a797661c90bc4fc00d23b4a29f66129611b4aa76f62d8a15854d36
Tags
trojan
Details
Name UnionCryptoTrader.exe
Size 1286144 bytes
Type PE32+ executable (GUI) x86-64, for MS Windows
MD5 46b3061fe981d0a5edfd8d55f75adf9f
SHA1 514263acf79aeb49d87192ae08f6c76854cdda12
SHA256 0967d2f122a797661c90bc4fc00d23b4a29f66129611b4aa76f62d8a15854d36
SHA512 38418a2f3a8870352d8a88d6fb48e2c93a35b48a559590beb12c7c507eadfd07bf087ea11e822fc3e7bc9d6710b17cb68c416ffcf87a787ed9
ssdeep 24576:fnrKym9OWCy0frP+1obeVbK8KW/TJ9+FCPjjcym8MUml:fnrKb9OWCy0q1obeVbPKW/TKcjlmhUml
Entropy 6.414530
Antivirus
No matches found.
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 5 of 18

No matches found.
PE Metadata
Compile Date 2019-08-06 21:22:00-04:00
Import Hash e0f869ddf0b356ab31c5676591e890ed
Company Name UnionCrypto Co.Ltd
File Description Union Crypto Trader
Internal Name UnionCryptoTrader.exe
Legal Copyright © UnionCrypto Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original Filename UnionCryptoTrader.exe
Product Name Union Crypto Trader
Product Version 1.00.0000
PE Sections
MD5 Name Raw Size Entropy
8a496cd41319fdb127a000e7a43bdfd4 header 1024 3.518197
686f2fe8e51a4327d3e25e937c5eb1cc .text 878080 6.431878
8f5b24579aaf7ecbc95b26614cf51e8c .rdata 230912 5.566823
91b3d6678654de37caa94b211aae696e .data 15360 4.052861
af667013369aea1785ada0e5442bcf07 .pdata 41472 6.082142
aced93d352d733478dc51a779aef0c62 .gfids 512 0.317810
1f354d76203061bfdd5a53dae48d5435 .tls 512 0.020393
285d8a234d06cfb54adffe2eb077a2fe .rsrc 113664 3.831914
241aeb18e88145608a8b273404896f72 .reloc 4608 5.365584
Packers/Compilers/Cryptors
Microsoft Visual C++ 8.0 (DLL)
Relationships
0967d2f122... Contained_Within af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
Description
This file is a 64-bit Windows executable contained within the Windows MSI Installer "UnionCryptoTrader.msi." When
executed, "UnionCryptoTrader.exe" loads a legitimate cryptocurrency arbitrage application with no signs of malicious
activity. (Note: arbitrage is defined as “the simultaneous buying and selling of securities, currency, or commodities in
different markets or in derivative forms in order to take advantage of differing prices for the same asset”).
This application does not appear to be a modification of the Windows QT Bitcoin Trader, but may be a modification of
Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage.
In addition to the "unioncrypto.vip" site describing "UnionCryptoTrader.exe" as a “Smart Cryptocurrency Arbitrage Trading
Platform," many of the strings found in "UnionCryptoTrader.exe" have references to Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage including
but not limited to:
--Begin similarities--
Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage
| Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage Log File |
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
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output/blackbird_result_
output\blackbird_log_
ERROR: Blackbird needs at least two Bitcoin exchanges. Please edit the config.json file to add new exchanges
--End similarities--
The strings also contain the links and references to all fourteen exchanges listed as implemented or potential on the
Blackbird GitHub page. In addition, the "config.txt" file found in the “C:\Program Files\UnionCryptoTrader” folder with
"UnionCryptoTrader.exe" also contains references to all fourteen exchanges, as well as sets the database file to
"blackbird.db." The file "blackbird.db" is also found in the same folder.
Screenshots
Figure 3 - Screenshot of the "UnionCryptoTrader.exe"application.
01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f
Tags
trojan
Details
Name UnionCryptoUpdater.exe
Size 161280 bytes
Type PE32+ executable (console) x86-64, for MS Windows
MD5 629b9de3e4b84b4a0aa605a3e9471b31
SHA1 1ef0e1cabd344726b663cec8d9e68f147259da55
SHA256 01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f
SHA512 c70abbe52cbbed220fee218664d1c5f4313bd5387de11c275aa31115e90328dac032c6138954f3931c7d134e8613ad6c278ed29d78c0dc819
ssdeep 3072:Q/MdytyORF471FiHNkwBFTdpSI94e1ZVypzCG9n7r:Q/ftvF471AHNFjdYIZOt
Entropy 6.192246
Antivirus
Avira TR/Agent.pfpad
BitDefender Trojan.GenericKD.33626108
Comodo Malware
ESET a variant of Win64/Agent.UV trojan
Emsisoft Trojan.GenericKD.33626108 (B)
Ikarus Trojan.Win64.Agent
K7 Trojan ( 0056425b1 )
Lavasoft Trojan.GenericKD.33626108
McAfee Trojan-Agent.c
NANOAV Trojan.Win64.Mlw.icfhya
Symantec Trojan.Gen.2
TACHYON Trojan/W64.Agent.161280.C
TrendMicro TROJ_FR.DEFD7DB1
TrendMicro House Call TROJ_FR.DEFD7DB1
VirusBlokAda Trojan.Win64.Agentb
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 7 of 18

Zillya! Trojan.Agent.Win64.5106
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
PE Metadata
Compile Date 2019-08-06 22:00:26-04:00
Import Hash e217501515a13bba8aefe7dcf3b74f33
Company Name UnionCrypto Co.Ltd
File Description Union Crypto Trading Updater
Internal Name unioncryptoupdater.exe
Legal Copyright © UnionCrypto Corporation. All rights reserved.
Original Filename unioncryptoupdater.exe
Product Name Union Crypto Trading Updater
Product Version 1.0.23.474
PE Sections
MD5 Name Raw Size Entropy
9b73650178bdd95af246609c1b650253 header 1024 3.045187
ac3f61418ff1daa9142e2304a647c2aa .text 98816 6.452850
cc2de13f05d38702ac9a560e450ab54a .rdata 48128 5.088494
20ef8fb99461ca48fe9ed26ffb4cc26c .data 3072 2.234569
abf07cda1f35bf5fe4a9ac21de63f903 .pdata 6144 5.155358
3eab486bdf211a98334f08a5145dbf94 .gfids 512 1.857174
c9ab77353b20e3b22c344b60c8859d56 .rsrc 1536 3.943344
a9cd219d9ad71f6c2c60efc1308885c8 .reloc 2048 4.924725
Packers/Compilers/Cryptors
Microsoft Visual C++ 8.0 (DLL)
Relationships
01c13f825e... Downloaded 755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
01c13f825e... Contained_Within af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
Description
This file is a 64-bit Windows executable contained within the Windows MSI Installer "UnionCryptoTrader.msi." When
executed, "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe" first installs itself as a service, which will automatically start when any user logs on.
The service is installed with a description stating it “Automatically installs updates for Union Crypto Trader."
After installing the service, "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe" collects different information about the system the malware is
running on. Specifically, it uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Query Language (WQL) to collect this
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
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information. "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe" first finds the BIOS Serial Number by using the “SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios”
WMI filter as a WQL Query String (Figure 4).
This returns SMBBIOSBIOSVersion, Manufacturer, Name, SerialNumber, and Version. The function later pulls the
“SerialNumber” from this returned data (Figure 5).
The same process is followed to pull the operating system version and build number. The WQL Query String is “SELECT *
FROM Win32_OperatingSystem," and the fields pulled are “Caption” and “BuildNumber." Note that the “Caption” field
contains the OS version for the computer running the malware.
After collecting the system data, "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe" then builds a string consisting of the current time and the hard-coded value “12GWAPCT1F0I1S14." The current time is stored in the "auth_timestamp" variable.
This combined string is MD5 hashed and stored in the "auth_signature" variable. These variables are sent in the first
communication to the command and control (C2) server, and are likely used to verify any connections to the server are
actually originating from the "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe" malware.
These variables are sent via a POST the C2 hxxps[:]//unioncrypto.vip/update along with the collected system data. The
system data is sent in this specific format:
--Begin format--
rlz=[BIOS serial number]&ei=[OS Version] (BuildNumber)&act=check
--End format--
These values, along with a hard-coded User Agent String of “Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)
AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/75.0.3770.142 Safari/537.36” can be found in the malware data
section.
If the POST is successful (i.e. returns an HTTP response status code of 200), but returns a string of “0”,
UnionCryptoUpdater.exe will sleep for ten minutes and then regenerate the "auth_timestamp" and "auth_signature" to
contact the C2 again.
If the POST is successful and the C2 server does not return the string “0”, the malware will decode the base64 payload and
decrypt it. It then uses built in C++ functions to allocate memory, write the payload to memory, and executes the payload. If
this is successful, the malware will send another POST to the C2 with the value “act=done” replacing the “act=check” for
the previously specified format (Figure 9).
Screenshots
Figure 4 - Screenshot of the "UnionCryptoUpdater" Service.
Figure 5 - Screenshot of the "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios" query string.
Figure 6 - Screenshot of the "SerialNumber" selection.
Figure 7 - Screenshot of the "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe" getting current time and combining with hard-coded value.
Figure 8 - Screenshot of the hard-coded values and User Agent in "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe."
Figure 9 - Screenshot of the hard-coded "&act=done" value.
755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
Tags
trojan
Details
Name NodeDLL.dll
Size 537616 bytes
Type PE32+ executable (DLL) (GUI) x86-64, for MS Windows
MD5 549db64ceaebbbdd9068d761cb5c616c
SHA1 6d91ce7b9f38e2316aa9fb50ececc02eadc4cd70
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SHA256 755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
SHA512 0281257ad97e0765b57d29bb22fe9973f4ad5c42a93762eda1b12e71f78d02155fe32eda4ccd4acadbfccf61563175c28c520df5b63169857
ssdeep 12288:FOvSQSQs75paRGK9EovEfM9NosCz4jcauwVyZE19QLC:Mv0VpkGYvI6NAz4j5LV6+
Entropy 6.433002
Antivirus
No matches found.
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
PE Metadata
Compile Date 2019-10-21 12:33:45-04:00
Import Hash c24e1d44f912d970e41414c324d04158
PE Sections
MD5 Name Raw Size Entropy
41f1664ee936eb5e9c5a402b9f791086 header 1024 3.215046
d7c3e5262e243bfd078cc689c0dcc509 .text 393728 6.418398
0155d4e1f35b8f139d07993866f1e2f6 .rdata 115200 5.560875
67b68408aebc7de9f6019e94ab5cf2ce .data 3584 2.251912
809c1804672ec420bb9f366f30b025fb .pdata 20480 5.768325
7eb4b39b296be7f4de3339727d0f1eb0 .gfids 512 1.995088
28984c1ba2156023b894e0041ecd2479 .rsrc 512 4.724729
1c7de4ac5824c7b888e15c611cb69191 .reloc 2560 5.180527
Relationships
755bd7a376... Downloaded_By 01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f
755bd7a376... Downloaded_From unioncrypto.vip
755bd7a376... Connected_To 216.189.150.185
Description
This file is a 64-bit dynamic-link library (DLL). This file was identified as a payload for the Windows malware. This stage 2
is not immediately downloaded by "UnionCryptoUpdater.exe," but instead is downloaded after a period of time likely
specified by the C2 server at "hxxps[:]//unioncrypto.vip/update." This delay could be implemented to prevent researchers
from immediately obtaining the stage 2 malware.
The C2 and build path are visible from the "NodeDLL.dll" strings. The C2 for the malware is
hxxp[:]//216.189.150.185:8080/push.jsp.
The build path found in the strings is “Z:\Opal\bin\x64_Release\NodeDll.pdb." This stage 2 is likely part of a project named
“Opal” by the actors, due to the folder in the build path.
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NodeDLL.dll has multiple functionalities which can be verified by examining the program imports and strings.
Functionalities with corresponding strings/imports include but are not limited to:
1. Get/Update implant configuration
   a. Imports: GetComputerNameA, GetCurrentDirectoryW, GetStartupInfoW, GetTimeZoneInformation
   b. Strings: CurrentUser
2. Get/Put a file or directory
   a. Imports: WriteFile
3. Execute a program
   a. Imports: CreateProcessW
4. Directory listing
   a. Imports: GetCurrentDirectoryW
5. Active Drive Listing (C:\, D:\, etc.)
   a. Imports: GetLogicalDrives, GetDriveTypeW
6. Move a file/directory
   a. Imports: CreateDirectoryW, MoveFileExW
7. Delete a file/directory
   a. Imports: DeleteFileW
8. Screenshot active desktop
   a. Imports: GetDIBits, CreateCompatibleBitmap, BitBlt, etc from gdi32
9. Execute a shell command through cmd.exe
   a. Imports: GetCommandLineW, GetCommandLineA, CreateProcessAsUserW
10. Check IPv4 TCP connectivity against specified target
   a. Imports: connect, bind, send, socket, getaddrinfo, etc. from ws2_32
   b. Strings: Network unreachable, HTTP/1.%d %d, httponly, Remote file not found
11. Update configuration (beacon interval, AP address, etc.)
   a. Strings: Host: %s%s%s:%d, Set-Cookie:
The "NodeDLL.dll" strings also show a hard-coded user agent string: “Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)
AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/64.0.3282.140 Safari/537.36 Edge/17.17134”. Finally, a format string
which matches the HostUS C2 is found in the strings: "%s://%s%s%s:%d%s%s%s," along with many references to proxies
or proxy configurations.
216.189.150.185
Tags
command-and-control
URLs
216.189.150.185:8080/push.jsp
Ports
8080 TCP
Whois
Queried whois.arin.net with "n 216.189.150.185"...
NetRange:     216.189.144.0 - 216.189.159.255
CIDR:         216.189.144.0/20
NetName:        HOSTUS-IPV4-3
NetHandle:     NET-216-189-144-0-1
Parent:         NET216 (NET-216-0-0-0-0)
NetType:        Direct Allocation
OriginAS:     AS7489, AS25926
Organization: HostUS (HOSTU-4)
RegDate:        2014-08-29
Updated:        2015-12-29
Comment:        Please send all abuse reports to abuse@hostus.us
Ref:            https://rdap.arin.net/registry/ip/216.189.144.0
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 11 of 18

OrgName:        HostUS
OrgId:         HOSTU-4
Address:        125 N Myers St
City:         Charlotte
StateProv:     NC
PostalCode:     28202
Country:        US
RegDate:        2013-07-26
Updated:        2019-10-23
Comment:        IP addresses from this network are further reallocated or assigned to customers.
Comment:        Please send all abuse reports to abuse@hostus.us.
Comment:        Abuse reports must be submitted through email with the IP address in title.
Ref:            https://rdap.arin.net/registry/entity/HOSTU-4
OrgNOCHandle: HOSTU2-ARIN
OrgNOCName: HostUS Tech
OrgNOCPhone: +1-302-300-1737
OrgNOCEmail: noc@hostus.us
OrgNOCRef:    https://rdap.arin.net/registry/entity/HOSTU2-ARIN
OrgAbuseHandle: HAD18-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: HostUS Abuse Desk
OrgAbusePhone: +1-302-300-1737
OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@hostus.us
OrgAbuseRef:    https://rdap.arin.net/registry/entity/HAD18-ARIN
OrgTechHandle: HOSTU2-ARIN
OrgTechName: HostUS Tech
OrgTechPhone: +1-302-300-1737
OrgTechEmail: noc@hostus.us
OrgTechRef:    https://rdap.arin.net/registry/entity/HOSTU2-ARIN
Relationships
216.189.150.185 Connected_From 755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
Description
The C2 identified for NodeDLL.dll. The IP address 216.189.150.185 has ASN 7489 and is owned by HostUS.
2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
Tags
backdoordownloaderloadertrojan
Details
Name UnionCryptoTrader.dmg
Size 20911661 bytes
Type zlib compressed data
MD5 6588d262529dc372c400bef8478c2eec
SHA1 06d9f835efd1c05323f6a3abdf66e6be334e47c4
SHA256 2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
SHA512 4a90cd71e210662c3e21994a6af6d80f45c394b972d85ba725dc0e33721036c38b68829ca831113276cbea891fc075e1fa9911aad1fc647b0
ssdeep 393216:psbbiMqkRiP3p+/34QRDCLqKbNH40iBNTnz0xcECffBJrd8ur8dx3PAxC9lG:WbipIM3p+/TBvBN0xcRmur8dxIxC9l
Entropy 7.997189
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 12 of 18

Antivirus
Ahnlab Backdoor/OSX.Nukesped.20911661
Antiy Trojan/Mac.NukeSped
Avira OSX/Dldr.NukeSped.rtyrb
BitDefender Trojan.MAC.Lazarus.F
Cyren Trojan.PXZN-6
ESET OSX/TrojanDownloader.NukeSped.B trojan
Emsisoft Trojan.MAC.Lazarus.F (B)
Ikarus Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Nukesped
K7 Trojan ( 0001140e1 )
Lavasoft Trojan.MAC.Lazarus.F
McAfee OSX/Nukesped.b
Microsoft Security Essentials Trojan:MacOS/NukeSped.C!MTB
Sophos OSX/NukeSped-AB
Symantec OSX.Trojan.Gen
TrendMicro Trojan.3657DE58
TrendMicro House Call Trojan.3657DE58
Zillya! Downloader.Agent.OSX.68
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
Relationships
2ab58b7ce5... Downloaded_From unioncrypto.vip
2ab58b7ce5... Contains 6f45a004ad6bb087f733feb618e115fe88164f6db9562cb9b428372c9add75f0
2ab58b7ce5... Contains 631ac269925bb72b5ad8f469062309541e1edfec5610a21eecded75a35e65680
Description
This OSX program from the "UnionCrypto" download link is an Apple DMG installer.
The OSX program does not have a digital signature, and will warn the user of that before installation. Just as previous
versions, the UnionCrypto installer appears to be legitimate and installs both “UnionCryptoTrader”
(6f45a004ad6bb087f733feb618e115fe88164f6db9562cb9b428372c9add75f0) in the
“/Applications/UnionCryptoTrader.app/Contents/MacOS/” folder and a hidden program named “.unioncryptoupdater”
(631ac269925bb72b5ad8f469062309541e1edfec5610a21eecded75a35e65680) in the
“/Applications/UnionCryptoTrader.app/Contents/Resources/” folder. The installer contains a postinstall script (see figure
10).
This postinstall script is identical in functionality to the postinstall script for the second version. It moves the hidden plist
file (.vip.unioncrypto.plist) to the LaunchDaemons folder and changes the file permissions for the plist to be owned by root.
Once in the LaunchDaemons folder, this program will be ran on system load as root for every user. This will launch the
unioncryptoupdater program.
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The postinstall script also moves the hidden “.unioncryptoupdater” binary to a new location
“/Library/UnionCrypto/unioncryptoupdater” and makes the file executable. As the LaunchDaemon will not be run
immediately after the plist file is moved, the postinstall script then launches the unioncryptoupdater program in the
background (&). In contrast to the CelasTradePro “Updater” binary and JMTTrader “CrashReporter” binary, the
unioncryptoupdater binary is not launched with any parameters.
Screenshots
Figure 10 - Screenshot of the postinstall script included in UnionCryptoTrader installer.
Figure 11 - Screenshot of the "vip.unioncrypto.plist" file.
6f45a004ad6bb087f733feb618e115fe88164f6db9562cb9b428372c9add75f0
Tags
trojan
Details
Name UnionCryptoTrader
Size 1602900 bytes
Type Mach-O 64-bit x86_64 executable, flags:<NOUNDEFS|DYLDLINK|TWOLEVEL|WEAK_DEFINES|BINDS_TO_WEAK|PIE>
MD5 41587b0dd5104a4ee6484ff8cf47fd21
SHA1 bd41cb308913c4964aef47edafd36faa1f673717
SHA256 6f45a004ad6bb087f733feb618e115fe88164f6db9562cb9b428372c9add75f0
SHA512 efaf37208ee17967df8c435e592b2029d8e56aabd92ca989704bf7908399bf9e84b6312b928fb89907d72518ef40ae95ac6feeb1a19044231b
ssdeep 49152:2ScN8VPSplcFjsmEWe7JEANYIwErVqpxPM0:M40ltBWeFuHbE0
Entropy 6.459336
Antivirus
No matches found.
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
Relationships
6f45a004ad... Contained_Within 2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
Description
This OSX sample was contained within Apple DMG Installer "UnionCryptoTrader.dmg." When executed,
UnionCryptoTrader loads a legitimate cryptocurrency arbitrage application with no signs of malicious activity. (Note:
arbitrage is defined as “the simultaneous buying and selling of securities, currency, or commodities in different markets or in
derivative forms in order to take advantage of differing prices for the same asset”). This application does not appear to be a
modification of the OSX QT Bitcoin Trader, but may be a modification of Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage11.
In addition to the "unioncrypto.vip" site describing UnionCryptoTrader as a “Smart Cryptocurrency Arbitrage Trading
Platform," may of the strings found in UnionCryptoTrader have references to Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage including but not
limited to:
--Begin similarities--
Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage
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Page 14 of 18

| Blackbird Bitcoin Arbitrage Log File |
output/blackbird_result_
output/blackbird_log_
ERROR: Blackbird needs at least two Bitcoin exchanges. Please edit the config.json file to add new exchanges
--End similarities--
The strings also contain the links and references to all fourteen exchanges listed as implemented or potential on the
Blackbird GitHub page.
631ac269925bb72b5ad8f469062309541e1edfec5610a21eecded75a35e65680
Tags
backdoordownloaderloadertrojan
Details
Name unioncryptoupdater
Size 79760 bytes
Type Mach-O 64-bit x86_64 executable, flags:<NOUNDEFS|DYLDLINK|TWOLEVEL|BINDS_TO_WEAK|PIE>
MD5 da17802bc8d3eca26b7752e93f33034b
SHA1 e8f29f1e3f35a4f2c18be424551e280ed66b1dd7
SHA256 631ac269925bb72b5ad8f469062309541e1edfec5610a21eecded75a35e65680
SHA512 a32672fa780675e767e37fa1b8d186951cb934279cb416766c518a7d6f76b6521176a5055045c0af7ec1ce5f9882a952ed8761b54f9cb1258
ssdeep 1536:4YGnCXIbO9KBQJELi6VA2l5+r1M6JBM4YQNVZ3MpJy5TU23MpJy5Tp:3eCYK5JEBXaM6Jq4p3MpJy5Tb3MpJy5T
Entropy 4.871481
Antivirus
Ahnlab Backdoor/OSX.Nukesped.79760
Antiy Trojan/Mac.NukeSped
Avira OSX/Agent.hwuxh
BitDefender Trojan.MAC.Lazarus.D
ClamAV Osx.Malware.Agent-7430998-0
ESET OSX/TrojanDownloader.NukeSped.B trojan
Emsisoft Trojan.MAC.Lazarus.D (B)
Ikarus Trojan-Downloader.OSX.Nukesped
K7 Trojan ( 0001140e1 )
Lavasoft Trojan.MAC.Lazarus.D
McAfee OSX/Lazarus.b
Microsoft Security Essentials Trojan:MacOS/NukeSped.C!MTB
NANOAV Trojan.Mac.Download.gknigf
Quick Heal MacOS.Trojan.39995.GC
Sophos OSX/Lazarus-F
Symantec OSX.Trojan.Gen
TrendMicro TROJ_FR.ED65B0ED
TrendMicro House Call TROJ_FR.ED65B0ED
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 15 of 18

Zillya! Downloader.NukeSped.OSX.6
YARA Rules
No matches found.
ssdeep Matches
No matches found.
Relationships
631ac26992... Contained_Within 2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
Description
This OSX sample was contained within Apple DMG Installer "UnionCryptoTrader.dmg." This malware is signed adhoc,
meaning it is not signed with a valid code signing ID.
When executed, unioncryptoupdater immediately calls the “onRun()” function, which contains most of the logic and
functionality for this malware. This function first collects different information about the system the malware is running on.
It uses IOKit, which is an Apple framework designed to allow programs to gain user-access to hardware devices and drivers.
IOKit is specifically used to retrieve the system serial number with IOPlatformSerialNumber global variable (Figure 12).
The function then collects the operating system version by reading the system file at
“/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist," and specifically extracting the ProductVersion and
ProductBuildVersion from the system file (Figure 13).
After collecting the system data, unioncryptoupdater then builds a string consisting of the current time and the hard-coded
value “12GWAPCT1F0I1S14" (Figure 14).
This string is MD5 hashed and stored in the "auth_signature" variable and the current time (used to create string for
"auth_signature") in the "auth_timestamp" variable. These variables are sent in the first communication to the C2 server and
are likely used to verify any connections to the server are actually originating from the unioncryptoupdater malware.
All collected data and the "auth_signature" and "auth_timestamp" are sent to hxxps[:]//unioncrypto.vip/update using the
Barbeque::post() method. The Barbeque class is custom made C++ class which has both a post() and a get() method, which
utilize libcurl to perform network communications for the malware. Barbeque::post() sends the system data in this specific
format:
--Begin format--
rlz=[device serial number]&ei=[ProductVersion] (ProductBuildVersion)&act=check
--End format--
These values are found as described above or are hard-coded into the malware data section (Figure 15).
If the C2 server returns the string “0," unioncryptotrader will sleep for ten minutes and then regenerate the auth_timestamp
and auth_signature to contact the C2 again via the same Barbeque::post() method.
If the C2 server does not return the string “0," the malware will decode the base64 payload, and decrypt it using the C++
aes_decrypt_cbc function. After decryption, the malware uses the OSX function mmap to allocate memory with read, write,
and execute permissions. This is specified by the 7 loaded into the edx register before mmap is called. (Note: the 7, or binary
111, comes from OR’ing the read (100), write (010), and execute (001) binary values together, just as file permissions are
often set). If mmap is successful in allocating the memory, the function then uses memcpy to copy the decrypted payload
into the mmap’d memory region (Figure 16).
After the decrypted payload is copied into memory, unioncryptoupdater calls a function named memory_exec2, which
utilizes Apple API NSCreateObjectFileImageFromMemory to create an “object file image” from the memory, and Apple
API NSLinkModule to link the “object file image”. The API calls are necessary to allow the payload in memory to execute,
as files in memory are not simply able to execute as files on disk are (Figure 17).
Once the malware has mapped and linked the payload in memory, it searches the mapped memory for “0xfeedfacf," which is
the magic number for 64-bit OSX executables. This check is likely included to verify the payload was properly decoded,
decrypted, and memory mapped before attempting execution (Figure 18).
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After verifying the magic number, the malware searches for the address 0x80000028, which is the address of the LC_MAIN
Load Command. Load Commands are similar to a table of contents for an OSX executable which contain commands and
command positions in the binary. Offset 0x8 of the LC_MAIN load command contains the offset of the OSX executable
entry point (Figure 19). This entry point is placed in register r8, and is called by the malware.
This process of allocating memory, copying the payload into memory, and calling the entry point achieves pure in-memory
execution of the remotely downloaded payload. As such, if this is successful, the payload can be executed exclusively in
memory and is never copied to disk.
If any part of the memory code execution process fails, unioncryptoupdater will write the received payload to
“/tmp/updater” instead and execute it with a call to system (Figure 20).
The payload for this OSX malware could not be downloaded, as the C2 server "unioncrypto.vip/update" is no longer
accessible. In addition, the payload was not identified in open source reporting.
Screenshots
Figure 12 - Screenshot of the IOPlatformSerialNumber reference in unioncryptoupdater.
Figure 13 - Screenshot of the unioncryptoupdater collecting OS version.
Figure 14 - Screenshot of unioncryptoupdater getting current time and combining with hard-coded value.
Figure 15 - Screenshot of the various hard-coded values in unioncryptoupdater.
Figure 16 - Screenshot of mmap and memcpy in unioncryptoupdater.
Figure 17 - Screenshot of NSCreateObjectFileImageFromMemory.
Figure 18 - Screenshot of 39FEEDFACF in unioncryptoupdater.
Figure 19 - Screenshot of the load and call entry point of payload.
Figure 20 - Screenshot of the write payload to disk and execute.
Relationship Summary
e3623c2440... Contains af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
unioncrypto.vip Downloaded_To 2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
unioncrypto.vip Downloaded_To 755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
af4144c1f0... Contained_Within e3623c2440b692f6b557a862719dc95f41d2e9ad7b560e837d3b59bfe4b8b774
af4144c1f0... Contains 01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f
af4144c1f0... Contains 0967d2f122a797661c90bc4fc00d23b4a29f66129611b4aa76f62d8a15854d36
0967d2f122... Contained_Within af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
01c13f825e... Downloaded 755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
01c13f825e... Contained_Within af4144c1f0236e6b59f40d88635ec54c2ef8034f6a96a83f5dbfd6b8ea2c0d49
755bd7a376... Downloaded_By 01c13f825ec6366ac2b6dd80e5589568fa5c8685cb4d924d1408e3d7c178902f
755bd7a376... Downloaded_From unioncrypto.vip
755bd7a376... Connected_To 216.189.150.185
216.189.150.185 Connected_From 755bd7a3765efceb8183ffade090ef2637a85c4505f8078dda116013dd5758f3
2ab58b7ce5... Downloaded_From unioncrypto.vip
2ab58b7ce5... Contains 6f45a004ad6bb087f733feb618e115fe88164f6db9562cb9b428372c9add75f0
2ab58b7ce5... Contains 631ac269925bb72b5ad8f469062309541e1edfec5610a21eecded75a35e65680
6f45a004ad... Contained_Within 2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
631ac26992... Contained_Within 2ab58b7ce583402bf4cbc90bee643ba5f9503461f91574845264d4f7e3ccb390
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
Page 17 of 18

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 CISA Central .
Can I submit malware to CISA? Malware samples can be submitted via three methods:
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.cisa.gov.
Source: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-048c
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