unit42 · Crawled Sep 6, 2026
The Permanent Threat: Analyzing Aeternum’s Blockchain-Based C2 Operations and Communications
28 IoCs 2 Malware
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AI Summary
Aeternum is a recently discovered C++ botnet loader that uses the Polygon blockchain for decentralized command-and-control (C2) operations. The malware retrieves encrypted or plaintext instructions from smart contracts on the blockchain by querying public RPC endpoints, enabling resilient and low-cost infrastructure resistant to takedowns. Three distinct malware samples were analyzed: the initial Aeternum loader, a Python-based downloader, and a multi-component payload combining XWorm RAT, XMRig cryptocurrency miner, and data exfiltration tools. The threat leverages Telegram APIs and GitHub repositories for secondary C2 and payload delivery, while using weak encryption schemes that allow decryption via contract address and payload analysis.
AI-extracted · verify before operational use
Extracted Entities 2 found
Indicators of Compromise 28 extracted
| Type | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| SHA-256 | 5bfb25b8255b61e5ffdf6804451534bcfa9f1dfd225e6c8cdcefb5f50d846898 | Details → |
| SHA-256 | 1505eda3da68e2ff9919b55a31018bd30a991236f041aee835f3bc4e430ce505 | Details → |
| Filename | DotNetZip.dll | Details → |
| Filename | putty.exe | Details → |
| Filename | Wmi_Framework_APIKEY_wmsnet_<random_value>.lnk | Details → |
| Filename | wmiframework.exe | Details → |
| Filename | ZrvEsJQzWQ.exe | Details → |
| Filename | STAAAAAS.exe | Details → |
| Domain | api[.]telegram[.]org | Details → |
| GitHub Repo | lencod | Details → |
| GitHub Repo | Mash3Do | Details → |
| Registry User | lencod | Details → |
| Registry User | Mash3Do | Details → |
| SHA-256 | f2a326cff405299e4ebdfaac955c52fc7e496544eaa0921ecad4816cb3ae3a27 | Details → |
| SHA-256 | 4e24bbd0fabac6c3efcec943046afbfd332b2c0108a13becfda23a0e26f9ff5f | Details → |
| SHA-256 | 81bb80d9c5a97dc41b65f6248c131963c91346eb4fb672836b3d53ae67564d9f | Details → |
| Domain | gulf[.]moneroocean[.]stream | Details → |
| IP | 193[.]221[.]200[.]219 | Details → |
| Domain | sekirolegion[.]duckdns[.]org | Details → |
| SHA-256 | ea1b6ff3a0c1a749b9f09d66789973321d63d8896b48f7345193bdad512950a2 | Details → |
| Domain | download[.]sftp-api-group-wechat[.]com | Details → |
| Domain | update[.]constant-path[.]xyz | Details → |
| Domain | update-launcher[.]xyz | Details → |
| Domain | test-steve[.]cyou | Details → |
| Filename | PythonLauncher-*.lnk | Details → |
| Filename | dpapimig.exe | Details → |
| Filename | WmiPrvSE.exe | Details → |
| Domain | cdnjsdelivr[.]beer | Details → |
MITRE ATT&CK TTPs 77 techniques
T1006 Direct Volume Access · Defense Evasion T1012 Query Registry · Discovery T1014 Rootkit · Defense Evasion T1021.001 Remote Desktop Protocol · Lateral Movement T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares · Lateral Movement T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information · Defense Evasion T1053.005 Scheduled Task · Execution T1055 Process Injection · Defense Evasion T1055.001 Dynamic-link Library Injection · Defense Evasion T1055.015 ListPlanting · Defense Evasion T1059.001 PowerShell · Execution T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation · Privilege Escalation T1070.004 File Deletion · Defense Evasion T1070.009 Clear Persistence · Defense Evasion T1071.001 Web Protocols · Command And Control T1071.004 DNS · Command And Control T1078 Valid Accounts · Defense Evasion T1082 System Information Discovery · Discovery T1083 File and Directory Discovery · Discovery T1090 Proxy · Command And Control T1090.004 Domain Fronting · Command And Control T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer · Command And Control T1110.003 Password Spraying · Credential Access T1204.002 Malicious File · Execution T1482 Domain Trust Discovery · Discovery T1496 Resource Hijacking · Impact T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control · Privilege Escalation T1557 Adversary-in-the-Middle · Credential Access T1566 Phishing · Initial Access T1003 OS Credential Dumping · Credential Access T1003.002 Security Account Manager · Credential Access T1027.002 Software Packing · Defense Evasion T1027.003 Steganography · Defense Evasion T1027.013 Encrypted/Encoded File · Defense Evasion T1036.005 Match Legitimate Name or Location · Defense Evasion T1053.003 Cron · Execution T1056.002 GUI Input Capture · Collection T1057 Process Discovery · Discovery T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter · Execution T1060 T1060 T1078.001 Default Accounts · Defense Evasion T1078.004 Cloud Accounts · Defense Evasion T1085 T1085 T1089 T1089 T1095 Non-Application Layer Protocol · Command And Control T1102.001 Dead Drop Resolver · Command And Control T1106 Native API · Execution T1110 Brute Force · Credential Access T1110.001 Password Guessing · Credential Access T1112 Modify Registry · Defense Evasion T1113 Screen Capture · Collection T1129 Shared Modules · Execution T1133 External Remote Services · Persistence T1135 Network Share Discovery · Discovery T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information · Defense Evasion T1160 T1160 T1170 T1170 T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application · Initial Access T1195.001 Compromise Software Dependencies and Development Tools · Initial Access T1197 BITS Jobs · Defense Evasion T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution · Execution T1205.001 Port Knocking · Defense Evasion T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access · Credential Access T1484.001 Group Policy Modification · Defense Evasion T1485 Data Destruction · Impact T1490 Inhibit System Recovery · Impact T1543.001 Launch Agent · Persistence T1543.002 Systemd Service · Persistence T1543.003 Windows Service · Persistence T1548.004 Elevated Execution with Prompt · Privilege Escalation T1555.003 Credentials from Web Browsers · Credential Access T1558 Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets · Credential Access T1564.003 Hidden Window · Defense Evasion T1570 Lateral Tool Transfer · Lateral Movement T1574.002 DLL Side-Loading · Persistence T1608.001 Upload Malware · Resource Development T1685 T1685