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ATT&CK Technique

Software Packing

T1027.002 · stealth

Adversaries may perform software packing or virtual machine software protection to conceal their code. Software packing is a method of compressing or encrypting an executable. Packing an executable changes the file signature in an attempt to avoid signature-based detection.

Most decompression techniques decompress the executable code in memory. Virtual machine software protection translates an executable's original code into a special format that only a special virtual machine can run. A virtual machine is then called to run this code.

Utilities used to perform software packing are called packers. Example packers are MPRESS and UPX. A more comprehensive list of known packers is available, but adversaries may create their own packing techniques that do not leave the same artifacts as well-known packers to evade defenses.

LinuxmacOSWindows

Actors Using This

14
iranAgrius
russia_speaking_cybercrimeAkira
russia_speaking_cybercrimeALPHV / BlackCat
latin_america_brazilian_organized_cybercrimeAmavaldo
north_koreaAndariel
chinaAPT10
chinaAPT17
chinaAPT1
russiaAPT29
chinaAPT31
iranAPT33
iranOilRig

Likely Attack Path

Techniques the same actors pair with this one distinctively - those showing up among actors who use this technique noticeably more than across all actors (lift > 1.15), grouped by kill-chain phase. The × is that lift multiplier; the shared-actor count is in the tooltip. A near-universal technique pairs with everything at baseline, so its list is short by design.
privilege-escalation same

Atomic Tests

4
Executable Atomic Red Team test cases for exercising this technique in a lab. Copy a command, run it on the listed platform, confirm your detections fire.
shlinuxBinary simply packed by UPX (linux)
Copies and then runs a simple binary (just outputting "the cake is a lie"), that was packed by UPX. No other protection/compression were applied.
cp #{bin_path} /tmp/packed_bin && /tmp/packed_bin
shlinuxBinary packed by UPX, with modified headers (linux)
Copies and then runs a simple binary (just outputting "the cake is a lie"), that was packed by UPX. The UPX magic number (`0x55505821`, "`UPX!`") was changed to (`0x4c4f5452`, "`LOTR`"). This prevents the binary from being detected by some methods, and especially UPX is not able to uncompress it any more.
cp #{bin_path} /tmp/packed_bin && /tmp/packed_bin
shmacosBinary simply packed by UPX
Copies and then runs a simple binary (just outputting "the cake is a lie"), that was packed by UPX. No other protection/compression were applied.
cp #{bin_path} /tmp/packed_bin && /tmp/packed_bin
shmacosBinary packed by UPX, with modified headers
Copies and then runs a simple binary (just outputting "the cake is a lie"), that was packed by UPX. The UPX magic number (`0x55505821`, "`UPX!`") was changed to (`0x4c4f5452`, "`LOTR`"). This prevents the binary from being detected by some methods, and especially UPX is not able to uncompress it any more.
cp #{bin_path} /tmp/packed_bin && /tmp/packed_bin

Mitigations

1
MITRE ATT&CK mitigations - vendor-agnostic guidance for reducing exposure to this technique.
M1049Antivirus/Antimalware

Antivirus/Antimalware solutions utilize signatures, heuristics, and behavioral analysis to detect, block, and remediate malicious software, including viruses, trojans, ransomware, and spyware. These solutions continuously monitor endpoints and systems for known malicious patterns and suspicious behaviors that indicate compromise. Antivirus/Antimalware software should be deployed across all devices, with automated updates to ensure protection against the latest threats.

Signature-Based Detection
  • Implementation: Use predefined signatures to identify known malware based on unique patterns such as file hashes, byte sequences, or command-line arguments. This method is effective against known threats.
  • Use Case: When malware like "Emotet" is detected, its signature (such as a specific file hash) matches a known database of malicious software, triggering an alert and allowing immediate quarantine of the infected file.
Heuristic-Based Detection
  • Implementation: Deploy heuristic algorithms that analyze behavior and characteristics of files and processes to identify potential malware, even if it doesn’t match a known signature.
  • Use Case: If a program attempts to modify multiple critical system files or initiate suspicious network communications, heuristic analysis may flag it as potentially malicious, even if no specific malware signature is available.
Behavioral Detection (Behavior Prevention)
  • Implementation: Use behavioral analysis to detect patterns of abnormal activities, such as unusual system calls, unauthorized file encryption, or attempts to escalate privileges.
  • Use Case: Behavioral analysis can detect ransomware attacks early by identifying behavior like mass file encryption, even before a specific ransomware signature has been identified.
Real-Time Scanning
  • Implementation: Enable real-time scanning to automatically inspect files and network traffic for signs of malware as they are accessed, downloaded, or executed.
  • Use Case: When a user downloads an email attachment, the antivirus solution scans the file in real-time, checking it against both signatures and heuristics to detect any malicious content before it can be opened.
Cloud-Assisted Threat Intelligence
  • Implementation: Use cloud-based threat intelligence to ensure the antivirus solution can access the latest malware definitions and real-time threat feeds from a global database of emerging threats.
  • Use Case: Cloud-assisted antivirus solutions quickly identify newly discovered malware by cross-referencing against global threat databases, providing real-time protection against zero-day attacks.
Tools for Implementation
  • Endpoint Security Platforms: Use solutions such as EDR for comprehensive antivirus/antimalware protection across all systems.
  • Centralized Management: Implement centralized antivirus management consoles that provide visibility into threat activity, enable policy enforcement, and automate updates.
  • Behavioral Analysis Tools: Leverage solutions with advanced behavioral analysis capabilities to detect malicious activity patterns that don’t rely on known signatures.

Detection Coverage

1/6 layers
Coverage across standard detection surfaces. Rows marked none have no rule of that type mapped. Some are real blind spots worth closing; others are simply not applicable to this technique (e.g. YARA matches malware files, not network behaviour).
Behavioral / log (Sigma) 1
Analytics (MITRE CAR) none
Runtime / container (Falco) none
File / malware (YARA) none
Network (Suricata/Snort) none
Vuln scan (Nuclei) none

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