Kaspersky-labs · Crawled Jul 25, 2026

Cyberespionage campaign PassiveNeuron targets machines running Windows Server | Securelist

9 IoCs 3 Actors 1 Malware
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AI Summary

The PassiveNeuron campaign is a sophisticated cyberespionage operation targeting government, financial, and industrial organizations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It primarily compromises Windows Server machines, often through SQL server exploitation, and deploys custom APT implants such as Neursite and NeuralExecutor. The attackers use a multi-stage DLL loader chain with anti-sandbox techniques and have shifted to using GitHub-based dead drop resolvers for C2 configuration in newer variants. Attribution remains challenging, but TTPs suggest a Chinese-speaking threat actor with low confidence.

AI-extracted · verify before operational use

Extracted Entities 4 found

Malware Cobalt Strike → Threat Actor APT41 → Threat Actor APT31 → Threat Actor APT27 →

Indicators of Compromise 9 extracted

Type Value Detail
MD5 12ec42446db8039e2a2d8c22d7fd2946 Details →
MD5 406db41215f7d333db2f2c9d60c3958b Details →
MD5 44a64331ec1c937a8385dfeeee6678fd Details →
MD5 8dcf258f66fa0cec1e4a800fa1f6c2a2 Details →
MD5 d587724ade76218aa58c78523f6fa14e Details →
MD5 f806083c919e49aca3f301d082815b30 Details →
MD5 751f47a688ae075bba11cf0235f4f6ee Details →
Filename imjp14k.dll Details →
GitHub Repo wtyyvZQY/stU7BU0R Details →

MITRE ATT&CK TTPs 52 techniques

T1003 OS Credential Dumping · Credential Access T1018 Remote System Discovery · Discovery T1021.001 Remote Desktop Protocol · Lateral Movement T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares · Lateral Movement T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information · Defense Evasion T1033 System Owner/User Discovery · Discovery T1046 Network Service Discovery · Discovery T1048 Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol · Exfiltration T1053 Scheduled Task/Job · Execution T1055 Process Injection · Defense Evasion T1057 Process Discovery · Discovery T1059.001 PowerShell · Execution T1059.003 Windows Command Shell · Execution T1070.001 Clear Windows Event Logs · Defense Evasion T1071.001 Web Protocols · Command And Control T1071.003 Mail Protocols · Command And Control T1078 Valid Accounts · Defense Evasion T1082 System Information Discovery · Discovery T1083 File and Directory Discovery · Discovery T1086 T1086 T1087.002 Domain Account · Discovery T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer · Command And Control T1110 Brute Force · Credential Access T1110.003 Password Spraying · Credential Access T1112 Modify Registry · Defense Evasion T1133 External Remote Services · Persistence T1204.002 Malicious File · Execution T1218.001 Compiled HTML File · Defense Evasion T1222 File and Directory Permissions Modification · Defense Evasion T1222.001 Windows File and Directory Permissions Modification · Defense Evasion T1482 Domain Trust Discovery · Discovery T1484.001 Group Policy Modification · Defense Evasion T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact · Impact T1489 Service Stop · Impact T1490 Inhibit System Recovery · Impact T1537 Transfer Data to Cloud Account · Exfiltration T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder · Persistence T1562.001 Disable or Modify Tools · Defense Evasion T1566 Phishing · Initial Access T1573.001 Symmetric Cryptography · Command And Control T1003.001 LSASS Memory · Credential Access T1055.001 Dynamic-link Library Injection · Defense Evasion T1095 Non-Application Layer Protocol · Command And Control T1129 Shared Modules · Execution T1135 Network Share Discovery · Discovery T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information · Defense Evasion T1170 T1170 T1197 BITS Jobs · Defense Evasion T1205.001 Port Knocking · Defense Evasion T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services · Lateral Movement T1485 Data Destruction · Impact T1558 Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets · Credential Access