Gazer

Gazer is a backdoor used by Turla since at least 2016. [1]

ID: S0168
Associated Software: WhiteBear
Type: MALWARE
Platforms: Windows
Contributors: Bartosz Jerzman
Version: 1.2
Created: 16 January 2018
Last Modified: 04 December 2020

Associated Software Descriptions

Name Description
WhiteBear

The term WhiteBear is used both for the activity group (a subset of G0010) as well as the malware observed. Based on similarities in behavior and C2, WhiteBear is assessed to be the same as S0168. [2][3]

Techniques Used

Domain ID Name Use
Enterprise T1071 .001 Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols

Gazer communicates with its C2 servers over HTTP.[1]

Enterprise T1547 .001 Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder

Gazer can establish persistence by creating a .lnk file in the Start menu.[1][2]

.004 Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Winlogon Helper DLL

Gazer can establish persistence by setting the value "Shell" with "explorer.exe, %malware_pathfile%" under the Registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.[1]

.009 Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Shortcut Modification

Gazer can establish persistence by creating a .lnk file in the Start menu or by modifying existing .lnk files to execute the malware through cmd.exe.[1][2]

Enterprise T1573 .001 Encrypted Channel: Symmetric Cryptography

Gazer uses custom encryption for C2 that uses 3DES.[1][2]

.002 Encrypted Channel: Asymmetric Cryptography

Gazer uses custom encryption for C2 that uses RSA.[1][2]

Enterprise T1546 .002 Event Triggered Execution: Screensaver

Gazer can establish persistence through the system screensaver by configuring it to execute the malware.[1]

Enterprise T1564 .004 Hide Artifacts: NTFS File Attributes

Gazer stores configuration items in alternate data streams (ADSs) if the Registry is not accessible.[1]

Enterprise T1070 .004 Indicator Removal: File Deletion

Gazer has commands to delete files and persistence mechanisms from the victim.[1][2]

.006 Indicator Removal: Timestomp

For early Gazer versions, the compilation timestamp was faked.[1]

Enterprise T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

Gazer can execute a task to download a file.[1][2]

Enterprise T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information

Gazer logs its actions into files that are encrypted with 3DES. It also uses RSA to encrypt resources.[2]

Enterprise T1055 Process Injection

Gazer injects its communication module into an Internet accessible process through which it performs C2.[1][2]

.003 Thread Execution Hijacking

Gazer performs thread execution hijacking to inject its orchestrator into a running thread from a remote process.[1][2]

Enterprise T1053 .005 Scheduled Task/Job: Scheduled Task

Gazer can establish persistence by creating a scheduled task.[1][2]

Enterprise T1553 .002 Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing

Gazer versions are signed with various valid certificates; one was likely faked and issued by Comodo for "Solid Loop Ltd," and another was issued for "Ultimate Computer Support Ltd."[1][2]

Enterprise T1033 System Owner/User Discovery

Gazer obtains the current user's security identifier.[2]

Groups That Use This Software

ID Name References
G0010 Turla

[1]

References