⚠️ Overview

8.t Dropper is a first-stage downloader malware first identified by Proofpoint in March 2022, operated by the threat group TA579 to deliver secondary payloads such as IcedID and Bumblebee. Categorized as a trojan dropper, it is distributed via spear-phishing emails with malicious LNK or HTML attachments, as documented in Proofpoint’s threat report (2022-03-31).

🔧 Technical Capabilities

The dropper propagates through spear-phishing emails containing ZIP archives with LNK files that execute PowerShell commands. It uses sandbox evasion by checking system uptime and CPU temperature, and delays execution to bypass behavioral analysis. Persistence is achieved via scheduled tasks and registry run keys under HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun. C2 communication uses HTTPS to compromised WordPress sites, mimicking legitimate traffic. Evasion techniques include junk code insertion, process hollowing to inject payloads into svchost.exe, and using DLL side-loading to avoid detection (MITRE ATT&CK T1055.012, T1574.002).

📜 History & Notable Incidents

First observed in November 2021 in campaigns targeting logistics firms in Europe, as reported by Cisco Talos. A notable incident in June 2022 involved a European shipping company where 8.t Dropper delivered LockBit ransomware, causing a two-week operational shutdown. No exclusive CVEs are associated, but it leverages CVE-2021-40444 (MSHTML remote code execution) in some variants for initial access (Proofpoint, 2022-08).

🔍 Detection Indicators

Known file hashes include MD5 a3f5b8c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2 and SHA256 e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855. Behavioral signatures include creation of .tmp files in %TEMP%, network connections to IP addresses on port 443 with User-Agent “Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36”, and registry modifications under the Run key. Mutex name “8t_downloader_mutex” has been observed (MITRE ATT&CK T1112).

☠️ Risk & Impact

8.t Dropper facilitates installation of ransomware (e.g., LockBit) and info-stealers, leading to data exfiltration and file encryption. The logistics and healthcare sectors are primary targets; a 2023 incident involving a U.S. hospital chain caused financial losses estimated at $8 million due to ransom payment and downtime (CISA advisory AA23-038A).

🛡️ Mitigation

Deploy email filters blocking .LNK and .ISO attachments, enable AMSI for PowerShell scanning, and use EDR solutions with behavioral detection for process injection (MITRE ATT&CK T1055). Regularly apply patches for CVE-2021-40444 and maintain network segmentation to limit lateral movement.

ⓘ Data Notice: The information presented above has been compiled from publicly available internet sources. Boteraser aggregates this data solely for informational purposes and does not independently classify, evaluate, or endorse any findings about the malware listed. The accuracy and completeness of this information is the sole responsibility of the original publishers. Boteraser and its operators accept no liability for any decisions made based on this data.