Home/Threat Actor/Javali
Threat Actor

Javali

javali · latin_america_brazilian_organized_cybercrime · active since 2017-11

Javali (canonical Kaspersky Tetrade framework naming per Securelist July 14, 2020 disclosure by Fabio Assolini "The Tetrade: Brazilian banking malware goes global") is a Brazilian-origin banking trojan active since November 2017 per Kaspersky + SCILabs tracking, targeting users of financial + banking organizations geolocated primarily in Brazil + Mexico.

Brazilian- origin organized cybercrime attribution via Kaspersky Tetrade framework canonical classification alongside Guildma + Melcoz + Grandoreiro four major Brazilian banking trojan families + SCILabs Mexico canonical 2021 Javali technical analysis ("Javali trojan is active since November 2017 and targets users of financial and banking organizations geolocated in Brazil and Mexico")

standalone malware platform cluster paralleling melcoz + mispadu + casbaneiro in v0.1.139 LATAM banking trojan operators cell expansion (extending v0.1.133 grandoreiro + guildma_astaroth + mekotio)

operational attack architecture: (1) phishing email with MSI installer + embedded Visual Basic Script payload delivery fetching final-stage malware from remote C2 server per Kaspersky.

(2) cluster-defining DLL side-loading via Avira legitimate binary abuse per SCILabs ("Javali trojan takes advantage of a legitimate executable from Avira Antivirus firm to inject into the memory a malicious DLL that impersonates the legitimate DLL: Avira.OE.NativeCore.dll. This technique is known as DLL side-loading aka DLL hijacking by abusing of vulnerabilities specifically occur when Windows Side-by-Side WinSxS manifests are not explicit enough about characteristics of the DLL to be loaded , the injector is a legitimate file and with a valid digital signature from Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG")

(3) allowlisted + signed binaries abuse per Kaspersky enabling security solution bypass.

(4) YouTube C2 communications signature cluster-cell coherent with v0.1.133 guildma_astaroth.yaml YouTube C2 abuse tradecraft (per Threatpost: "Like Guildma, it is also spread via phishing emails with malicious attachments, and it has begun using YouTube to host its command-and-control C2 communications")

(5) IndyProject library socket communication with dynamic port generation per execution per SCILabs + C2 servers geolocated in Brazil.

(6) TLD-targeted phishing distribution per Kaspersky for country- specific targeting ("controlling the means of distribution and sending phishing email only to those TLDs that the group is interested in")

(7) fake banking pop-up overlay GUI input capture typical LATAM banking trojan tradecraft + backdoor functionality + screen capture + clipboard data collection + keylogging.

(8) Delphi programming language origin signature typical LATAM banking trojan codebase.

cluster-defining hardcoded Grandoreiro C2 endpoints overlap per SCILabs establishing shared infrastructure between Kaspersky Tetrade family members ("hardcoded C2 endpoints inside the Javali can be related to Grandoreiro activity")

cluster fills the Avira-DLL-sideloading- abuse + legitimate-signed-binary-execution position in Latin American banking trojan operators cell + completes Kaspersky Tetrade framework standalone curation (Guildma + Javali + Melcoz + Grandoreiro); canonical illustration of Kaspersky Tetrade framework member + Avira legitimate binary DLL sideloading abuse + signed-binary execution + TLD-targeted phishing distribution tradecraft cited in essentially all subsequent Latin American banking trojan industry analyses through 2017-2026 period.

latin_america_brazilian_organized_cybercrime confidence: high 9 aliases
Sigma rules200 YARA rules0 Live IOCs0 CVEs exploited0

Profile

Javali (canonical Kaspersky Tetrade framework naming per July 14, 2020 Securelist disclosure by Fabio Assolini) is a Brazilian-origin banking trojan active since November 2017 targeting users of financial + banking organizations geolocated in Brazil + Mexico. Brazilian-origin organized cybercrime attribution via Kaspersky Tetrade framework canonical classification (alongside Guildma + Melcoz + Grandoreiro) + SCILabs Mexico canonical 2021 technical analysis. Standalone malware platform cluster paralleling melcoz + mispadu + casbaneiro in v0.1.139 LATAM banking trojan operators cell expansion (extending v0.1.133 grandoreiro + guildma_astaroth + mekotio).

Operational attack architecture: (1) Phishing email with MSI installer + embedded Visual Basic Script (cluster-defining): per Kaspersky, MSI files with embedded VBS fetch final payload from remote C2 server (2) DLL side-loading via Avira legitimate binary abuse (cluster-defining): Avira.OE.NativeCore.dll malicious DLL impersonates legitimate DLL, legitimate signed Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG executable used as injector per SCILabs (WinSxS manifest abuse) (3) Allowlisted + signed binaries abuse (signature): bypasses security solutions per Kaspersky (4) YouTube C2 communications (signature): cluster-cell coherence with v0.1.133 guildma_astaroth.yaml YouTube C2 abuse tradecraft (5) IndyProject library socket communication (signature): dynamic port generation per execution from well-defined range per SCILabs (6) TLD-targeted phishing distribution (signature): country-specific targeting via phishing email TLD filtering per Kaspersky (7) Fake banking pop-up overlay credential capture (signature): typical LATAM banking trojan tradecraft (8) Delphi programming language origin (signature): typical LATAM banking trojan codebase The cluster fills the Avira-DLL-sideloading-abuse + legitimate-signed-binary-execution position in the Latin American banking trojan operators cell + completes Kaspersky Tetrade framework standalone curation.

Aliases

9
javalijavali_banking_trojanjavali_malwarejavali tetrade brazilian banking trojanjavali kaspersky tetrade memberjavali brazil mexico banking trojanjavali avira dll sideloading abusejavali msi installer vbs phishingjavali youtube c2 communications

Notable Campaigns

7
2021Javali TTPs Overlap with Grandoreiro per SCILabs (2021)
2020-2021Javali Avira DLL Sideloading Signature (2020-2021)
2020-2021Javali YouTube C2 Communications Signature (2020+)
2020-2021Javali TLD-Targeted Distribution Signature
2020Kaspersky Tetrade Framework Canonical Classification (July 14, 2020)
2017-2026Continued Industry Reference Status (2017-2026)
2017Javali Origin, Brazil/Mexico Targeting (November 2017)

Attribution & Reporting

Attributed by
Kaspersky GReAT (canonical July 14, 2020 Tetrade framework disclosure, Fabio Assolini)Kaspersky Securelist (canonical Tetrade comprehensive analysis)SCILabs Mexico (canonical 2021 Javali technical analysis)SecurityWeek (canonical Tetrade industry reporting)SecurityAffairs (canonical Tetrade reporting + Javali Avira DLL sideloading analysis)Threatpost (canonical Brazil's Banking Trojans Go Global reporting)IT Pro (canonical Tetrade family reporting)The Hacker News (canonical 4 Dangerous Brazilian Banking Trojans reporting)Bleeping Computer (canonical industry coverage)Kaspersky LATAM (Dmitry Bestuzhev head of GReAT Latin America)Malpedia Software Profile (Javali)
Key reporting
reportKaspersky GReAT (Fabio Assolini): The Tetrade, Brazilian banking malware goes global (July 14, 2020), canonical Tetrade framework disclosure
reportKaspersky LATAM (Dmitry Bestuzhev head of GReAT Latin America): canonical Tetrade press release
reportSCILabs Mexico: canonical 2021 Javali technical analysis with Avira DLL sideloading + IndyProject library + Grandoreiro overlap
reportThreatpost: Brazil's Banking Trojans Go Global (July 2020)
reportSecurityWeek: Tetrade Brazilian Banking Trojans Go International (2020)
reportSecurityAffairs: Latin American Javali trojan weaponizing Avira antivirus legitimate injector (February 2021)
reportIT Pro: Researchers detail Tetrade family of Brazilian banking trojans (July 2020)
reportThe Hacker News: 4 Dangerous Brazilian Banking Trojans Now Trying to Rob Users Worldwide (July 2020)
reportMalpedia Software Profile: Javali

Operational

State sponsor

Brazilian-origin organized cybercrime, Kaspersky Tetrade framework member alongside Guildma + Melcoz + Grandoreiro. Operationally separate from state- sponsored APT activity. Attribution chain: (1) Kaspersky Tetrade framework canonical July 2020 classification: per Kaspersky Securelist "The Tetrade: Brazilian banking malware goes global" (Fabio Assolini July 14, 2020): Javali classified as one of four major Brazilian banking trojan families.

Per Kaspersky: "Javali is using allowlisted and signed binaries, Microsoft Installer files and DLL hijacking to infect victims en masse, all while targeting their efforts by country. This is achieved by controlling the means of distribution and sending phishing email only to those TLDs that the group is interested in." (2) SCILabs canonical 2021 Javali analysis: detailed Avira legitimate binary abuse + IndyProject library socket communication + hardcoded Grandoreiro C2 endpoints overlap. Per SCILabs: "Javali trojan is active since November 2017 and targets users of financial and banking organizations geolocated in Brazil and Mexico.

By analyzing this piece of malware, we found that Javali is using the same routines and calls often observed on other Latin American trojans, such as Grandoreiro, URSA aka Mispadu, Lampion, Vadokrist, Amavaldo, Casbaneiro aka Metamorpho and Mekotio." (3) Industry consensus: Javali attributed to Brazilian-origin organized cybercrime per Kaspersky + SCILabs + Threatpost + SecurityWeek + IT Pro + Bleeping Computer. Operational mission objective: Banking credential theft via fake pop-up overlay tradecraft + backdoor functionality. Per Kaspersky: "Javali (active since November 2017), similarly, downloads payloads sent via emails to fetch a final- stage malware from a remote C2 server.

" Operational target profile
  • Brazil + Mexico primary targets per Kaspersky + SCILabs.
  • Banking + financial institutions per Kaspersky.
  • Spanish/Portuguese-speaking countries focus per SCILabs (typical LATAM banking trojan) The cluster fills the Avira-DLL-sideloading-abuse position in the Latin American banking trojan operators cell + Kaspersky Tetrade framework completion.
Motivations
banking_credential_theft_brazil_mexico_targeting, avira_legitimate_binary_dll_sideloading_abuse_tradecraft, youtube_c2_communications_concealment_tradecraft, kaspersky_tetrade_framework_member_brazilian_cybercrime_capability, tld_targeted_phishing_distribution_capability
Sectors
Regions

Detection Blind Spots

60 techniques
Across this actor’s 60 mapped techniques, the share covered by each detection layer. Low bars are where you’d be blind if this actor targeted you.
Behavioral / log (Sigma)58/60 · 96%
Analytics (MITRE CAR)26/60 · 43%
Runtime / container (Falco)7/60 · 11%
File / malware (YARA)0/60 · 0%
Network (Suricata/Snort)16/60 · 26%
Vuln scan (Nuclei)0/60 · 0%

Atomic Test Plan

30 techniques
Runnable Atomic Red Team tests covering this actor’s mapped techniques - validate your detections against this specific adversary. Cross-reference the blind spots above. For authorized lab / purple-team use. Open the full builder
Intelligence Graph · click any node to traverse
CVETechnique ActorTool Family
drag to reposition · click any node to traverse · button top-right enlarges
External lookups - second-class, for what we don’t hold ourselves
Vulnerabilities
CISA KEV catalog
CWE weaknesses
CAPEC attack patterns
Package vulnerabilities
Threat intelligence
Threat actors
Tools & malware
ATT&CK techniques
IOCs
Detection & defense
Sigma rules
YARA rules
Atomic Red Team tests
D3FEND countermeasures
Compliance
NIST 800-53
ISO 27001:2022
SOC 2 TSC
PCI-DSS v4.0
CIS Controls v8.1
About
All capabilities
Live statistics
Data sources
Privacy policy
Terms of service
threatengine.sh  ·  Open-source threat intelligence platform  ·  100+ authoritative sources  ·  Every fact traces to its origin