securelist · Crawled Aug 14, 2026
APT group HoneyMyte upgrades CoolClient: the backdoor gets a kernel-level Windows rootkit
22 IoCs 1 Actors 1 Malware
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AI Summary
The HoneyMyte APT group, also known as Mustang Panda, has upgraded its CoolClient backdoor with a kernel-mode Windows rootkit to enhance stealth and persistence. The new variant uses a signed kernel driver, msagent.sys, deployed as a Windows service to hide malicious processes, files, registry keys, and network connections. The malware chain begins with DLL sideloading via a renamed Sangfor executable (defender.exe), establishes persistence through scheduled tasks and registry entries, performs UAC bypass using RPC techniques, and injects into synchost.exe before deploying the driver. The driver communicates with user-mode components via IOCTLs and employs minifilter and registry callbacks to protect its artifacts.
AI-extracted · verify before operational use
Extracted Entities 2 found
Indicators of Compromise 22 extracted
| Type | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| MD5 | 2d7c8780e97409770a9d4f31c66c9d63 | Details → |
| SHA-1 | 9460e150e1981d5c165043520c5c12fe | Details → |
| MD5 | 9717f005c5fb98e08d2ad983d88f94ee | Details → |
| SHA-1 | f518d8e5fe70d9090f6280c68a95998f | Details → |
| SHA-1 | eb79558b037669792652a816e2c669de | Details → |
| Filename | msagent.sys | Details → |
| Filename | libngs.dll | Details → |
| Filename | ctxmui.dll | Details → |
| Filename | defender.exe | Details → |
| Filename | loadcert.ini | Details → |
| Filename | cert.ini | Details → |
| Filename | time.ini | Details → |
| Domain | cloudtroe[.]giize[.]com | Details → |
| Domain | employers[.]theworkpc[.]com | Details → |
| Domain | freeread[.]casacam[.]net | Details → |
| Domain | us[.]lenovoappstore[.]com | Details → |
| Domain | sundanish[.]freeddns[.]org | Details → |
| Domain | torinarlabs[.]webredirect[.]org | Details → |
| Domain | news[.]dursamjbataar[.]org | Details → |
| Domain | video[.]dursamjbataar[.]org | Details → |
| Domain | black-popular[.]com | Details → |
| Domain | whatismybestthing[.]com | Details → |
MITRE ATT&CK TTPs 54 techniques
T1021.001 Remote Desktop Protocol · Lateral Movement T1036 Masquerading · Defense Evasion T1036.001 Invalid Code Signature · Defense Evasion T1036.005 Match Legitimate Name or Location · Defense Evasion T1053.005 Scheduled Task · Execution T1055 Process Injection · Defense Evasion T1055.001 Dynamic-link Library Injection · Defense Evasion T1059.001 PowerShell · Execution T1059.003 Windows Command Shell · Execution T1059.007 JavaScript · Execution T1071 Application Layer Protocol · Command And Control T1071.001 Web Protocols · Command And Control T1078 Valid Accounts · Defense Evasion T1078.003 Local Accounts · Defense Evasion T1112 Modify Registry · Defense Evasion T1134 Access Token Manipulation · Defense Evasion T1134.001 Token Impersonation/Theft · Defense Evasion T1204.002 Malicious File · Execution T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism · Privilege Escalation T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control · Privilege Escalation T1566 Phishing · Initial Access T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment · Initial Access T1001 Data Obfuscation · Command And Control T1001.002 Steganography · Command And Control T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation · Command And Control T1003 OS Credential Dumping · Credential Access T1012 Query Registry · Discovery T1018 Remote System Discovery · Discovery T1021 Remote Services · Lateral Movement T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares · Lateral Movement T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information · Defense Evasion T1027.002 Software Packing · Defense Evasion T1041 Exfiltration Over C2 Channel · Exfiltration T1048 Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol · Exfiltration T1056.001 Keylogging · Collection T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter · Execution T1070.001 Clear Windows Event Logs · Defense Evasion T1070.002 Clear Linux or Mac System Logs · Defense Evasion T1070.003 Clear Command History · Defense Evasion T1070.004 File Deletion · Defense Evasion T1070.005 Network Share Connection Removal · Defense Evasion T1070.006 Timestomp · Defense Evasion T1075 T1075 T1081 T1081 T1082 System Information Discovery · Discovery T1083 File and Directory Discovery · Discovery T1090 Proxy · Command And Control T1090.001 Internal Proxy · Command And Control T1110 Brute Force · Credential Access T1114 Email Collection · Collection T1120 Peripheral Device Discovery · Discovery T1133 External Remote Services · Persistence T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services · Lateral Movement T1555 Credentials from Password Stores · Credential Access