Exploring Compiled V8 Javascript Usage In Malware


In recent months, CPR has been investigating the usage of compiled V8 JavaScript by malware authors. Compiled V8 JavaScript is a lesser-known feature in V8, Google’s JavaScript engine, that enables the compilation of JavaScript into low-level bytecode.

This technique assists attackers in evading static detections and hiding their original source code, rendering it almost impossible to analyze statically. To statically analyze compiled JavaScript files, Check Point researchers employed a newly-developed custom tool named ”View8”, specifically designed for decompiling V8 bytecode to a high-level readable language. Using View8, they decompiled thousands of malicious compiled V8 applications, spanning various malware types, such as Remote Access Tools (RATs), stealers, miners and even ransomware.

Read more…
Source: Check Point


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Awaken Likho is awake: new techniques of an APT group

    October 7, 2024

    In July 2021, a campaign was launched primarily targeting Russian government agencies and industrial enterprises. Shortly after the campaign started, Kaspersky began tracking it, and published three reports in August and September 2024 through their threat research subscription on the threat actor they named Awaken Likho (also named by other vendors as Core Werewolf). While investigating ...

  • China: Rast ransomware gang aiming at domestic government and enterprises

    September 29, 2024

    From December 2023 to the present, QiAnXin Threat Intelligence Center observed that a ransomware written in rust language is very active on the Chinese Internet, and a large number of machines in China have been ransomed, with up to more than 20 victimized units only in the terminals of government and enterprises, which the researchers call ...

  • How the Necro Trojan infiltrated Google Play, again

    September 23, 2024

    In late August 2024, Kaspersky researchers attention was drawn to a Spotify mod called Spotify Plus, version 18.9.40.5. At the time of writing this, the mod could be downloaded from spotiplusxyz and several related sites that linked to it. The original website claimed that the mod was certified, safe, and contained numerous additional features not found ...

  • Gleaming Pisces Poisoned Python Packages Campaign Delivers PondRAT Linux and MacOS Backdoors

    September 18, 2024

    Unit 42 researchers have been tracking the activity of an ongoing poisoned Python packages campaign delivering Linux and macOS backdoors via infected Python software packages. Unit 42 researchers named these infected software packages PondRAT. They’ve also found Linux variants of POOLRAT, a known macOS remote administration tool (RAT) previously attributed to Gleaming Pisces (aka Citrine Sleet, ...

  • Exotic SambaSpy is now dancing with Italian users

    September 18, 2024

    In May 2024, kaspersky researchers detected a campaign exclusively targeting victims in Italy. They were rather surprised by this, as cybercriminals typically select a broader target to maximize their profits. What sets this campaign apart is that, at various stages of the infection chain, checks are made to ensure that only Italian users are infected. This ...

  • Loki: a new private agent for the popular Mythic framework

    September 9, 2024

    In July 2024, Kaspersky researchers discovered the previously unknown Loki backdoor, which was used in a series of targeted attacks. By analyzing the malicious file and open sources, we determined that Loki is a private version of an agent for the open-source Mythic framework. The newly discovered Loki agent is a Mythic-compatible version of the agent for ...