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Practical Malware Analysis

This document discusses using virtual machines for safely analyzing malware through dynamic analysis. It describes configuring virtual machines to run malware in an isolated environment while monitoring its behavior. Specific tools are introduced for observing process, registry, network, and file system activity in real-time, including Process Monitor, Process Explorer, Regshot, network simulators like INetSim, and packet sniffers like Wireshark. Configuring virtual networking and using these tools together enables analyzing how malware communicates on the network and what changes it makes to the system.

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Jayesh Shinde
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144 views45 pages

Practical Malware Analysis

This document discusses using virtual machines for safely analyzing malware through dynamic analysis. It describes configuring virtual machines to run malware in an isolated environment while monitoring its behavior. Specific tools are introduced for observing process, registry, network, and file system activity in real-time, including Process Monitor, Process Explorer, Regshot, network simulators like INetSim, and packet sniffers like Wireshark. Configuring virtual networking and using these tools together enables analyzing how malware communicates on the network and what changes it makes to the system.

Uploaded by

Jayesh Shinde
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Practical Malware Analysis

Ch 2: Malware Analysis in Virtual


Machines
Dynamic Analysis
• Running malware deliberately, while
monitoring the results
• Requires a safe environment
• Must prevent malware from spreading to
production machines
• Real machines can be airgapped –no network
connection to the Internet or to other
machines
Real Machines
• Disadvantages
– No Internet connection, so parts of the malware
may not work
– Can be difficult to remove malware, so re-imaging
the machine will be necessary
• Advantage
– Some malware detects virtual machines and won't
run properly in one
Virtual Machines
• The most common method
• We'll do it that way
• This protects the host machine from the
malware
– Except for a few very rare cases of malware that
escape the virtual machine and infect the host
VMware Player
• Free but limited
• Cannot take snapshots
• VMware Workstation or Fusion is a better
choice, but they cost money
• You could also use VirtualBox, Hyper-V,
Parallels, or Xen.
Windows XP
• The malware we are analyzing targets
Windows XP, as most malware does
• The DVD handed out in class contains a Win
XP SP3 virtual machine for you to use
Configuring VMware
• You can disable networking by disconnecting
the virtual network adapter
• Host-only networking allows network traffic to
the host but not the Internet
Connecting Malware to the Internet
• NAT mode lets VMs see each other and the
Internet, but puts a virtual router between the
VM and the LAN
• Bridged networking connects the VM directly to
the LAN
• Can allow malware to do some harm or spread –
controversial
• You could send spam or participate in a DDoS
attack
Snapshots
Risks of Using VMware for Malware Analysis

• Malware may detect that it is in a VM and run


differently
• VMware has bugs: malware may crash or
exploit it
• Malware may spread or affect the host – don't
use a sensitive host machine
• All the textbook samples are harmless
Practical Malware Analysis

Ch 3: Basic Dynamic Analysis


Why Perform Dynamic Analysis?
• Static analysis can reach a dead-end, due to
– Obfuscation
– Packing
– Examiner has exhausted the available static
analysis techniques
• Dynamic analysis is efficient and will show you
exactly what the malware does
Sandboxes: The Quick-and-Dirty
Approach
Sandbox
• All-in-one software for basic dynamic analysis
• Virtualized environment that simulates
network services
• Examples: Norman Sandbox, GFI Sandbox,
Anubis, Joe Sandbox, ThreatExpert, BitBlaze,
Comodo Instant Malware Analysis
• They are expensive but easy to use
• They produce a nice PDF report of results
Running Malware
Launching DLLs
• EXE files can be run directly, but DLLs can't
• Use Rundll32.exe (included in Windows)
rundll32.exe DLLname, Export arguments
• The Export value is one of the exported
functions you found in Dependency Walker,
PEview, or PE Explorer.
Launching DLLs
• Example
– rip.dll has these exports: Install and Uninstall
rundll32.exe rip.dll, Install
• Some functions use ordinal values instead of
names, like
rundll32.exe xyzzy.dll, #5
• It's also possible to modify the PE header and
convert a DLL into an EXE
Monitoring with Process Monitor
Process Monitor
• Monitors registry, file system, network,
process, and thread activity
• All recorded events are kept, but you can filter
the display to make it easier to find items of
interest
• Don't run it too long or it will fill up all RAM
and crash the machine
Launching Calc.exe
Process Monitor Toolbar

Default Filters
Start/Stop Erase Filter Registry, File system, Network, Processes
Capture
Filtering with Exclude
• One technique: hide normal activity before
launching malware
• Right-click each Process Name and click
Exclude
• Doesn't seem to work well with these samples
Filtering with Include
• Most useful filters: Process Name, Operation,
and Detail
Viewing Processes with
Process Explorer
Coloring
• Services are pink
• Processes are blue
• New processes are green briefly
• Terminated processes are red
DLL Mode
Properties
• Shows DEP and
ASLR status
• Verify button
checks the disk
file's Windows
signature
– But not the RAM
image, so it won't
detect process
replacement
Strings
• Compare Image to
Memory strings, if
they are very
different, it can
indicate process
replacement
Detecting Malicious Documents
• Open the document (e.g. PDF) on a system
with a vulnerable application
• Watch Process Explorer to see if it launches a
process
• The Image tab of that process's Properties
sheet will show where the malware is
Comparing Registry Snapshots
with Regshot
Faking a Network
Using ApateDNS to Redirect DNS Resolutions
ApateDNS Does Not Work
• I couldn't get it to redirect any traffic in Win XP
or 7
• nslookup works, but you don't see anything in
a browser or with ping
• I decided to ignore it and use INetSim instead
Monitoring with Ncat
(included with Nmap)
Packet Sniffing with Wireshark
Follow TCP Stream
• Can safe
files from
streams
here too
Using INetSim
inetsim
INetSim Fools a Browser
INetSim
Fools
Nmap
Basic Dynamic Tools in Practice
Using the Tools
• Procmon
– Filter on the malware executable name and clear
all events just before running it
• Process Explorer
• Regshot
• Virtual Network with INetSim
• Wireshark

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