⚠️ Overview

Asprox is a botnet that also functions as an SQL injection toolkit, first identified in 2008 by researchers at Arbor Networks. It is operated by an unknown criminal group and is classified as a botnet with secondary website defacement and credential theft capabilities, primarily targeting ASP-based web servers.

🔧 Technical Capabilities

Asprox propagates by exploiting SQL injection vulnerabilities in ASP applications to inject malicious iframes or redirect visitors to exploit kits, as documented in Trend Micro's 2009 analysis. It also spreads through email spam with attachments delivering the bot payload. The command-and-control (C2) infrastructure relies on HTTP requests to ASP pages on compromised servers, often using encrypted communications. Persistence is achieved via a registry entry under HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun with the value "Asprox". Evasion techniques include polymorphic SQL injection strings and User-Agent spoofing, commonly "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1)". The bot can also act as a proxy to obfuscate the true C2 server, according to Arbor Networks' threat reports.

📜 History & Notable Incidents

Asprox first emerged in late 2008 with a massive SQL injection campaign that infected over 10,000 websites within weeks, as reported by SANS ISC. In 2009, a variant targeted high-profile government and financial websites. No formal law enforcement takedowns have been publicly reported, though security firms disrupted some C2 servers. No specific CVEs are directly associated; the malware exploits generic SQL injection weaknesses (MITRE ATT&CK T1190).

🔍 Detection Indicators

Known indicators include the mutex name "GlobalAsprox" and the registry key "Asprox" in the current run path. Network evidence includes HTTP GET requests to .asp scripts with parameters like "act=check" and the distinctive User-Agent string mentioned above. File hashes are not widely published, but YARA rules are available from platforms like VirusTotal for Asprox samples. MITRE ATT&CK techniques include T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) and T1105 (Ingress Tool Transfer).

☠️ Risk & Impact

Asprox can exfiltrate database contents, steal credentials, and turn infected machines into spam relays. It has been used to deface websites and serve exploit kits for secondary malware, as noted in FireEye's 2010 analysis. Affected industries include e-commerce, government, and financial services, with potential financial losses from data breaches and service disruption.

🛡️ Mitigation

Defenses include regular SQL injection vulnerability scanning, deploying web application firewalls (WAF), and applying security patches for ASP frameworks. Additionally, email security gateways and network monitoring for suspicious HTTP traffic can detect and block Asprox activity. Refer to CISA's guidance on botnet mitigation for further steps.

ⓘ 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.