• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

PyPI maintainers alert users to email verification phishing attack

 | 

FBI seizes 20 BTC from Chaos Ransomware affiliate targeting Texas firms

 | 

Critical SAP flaw exploited to launch Auto-Color Malware attack on U.S. company

 | 

Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions

 | 

Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea

 | 

Pro-Ukraine hacktivists claim cyberattack on Russian Airline Aeroflot that caused the cancellation of +100 flights

 | 

Seychelles Commercial Bank Reported Cybersecurity Incident

 | 

Microsoft uncovers macOS flaw allowing bypass TCC protections and exposing sensitive data

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Cisco ISE and PaperCut NG/MF flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Critical WordPress Post SMTP plugin flaw exposes 200K+ sites to full takeover

 | 

Scattered Spider targets VMware ESXi in using social engineering

 | 

China-linked group Fire Ant exploits VMware and F5 flaws since early 2025

 | 

Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

 | 

Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

 | 

Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

 | 

Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access

 | 

Koske, a new AI-Generated Linux malware appears in the threat landscape

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Cyber Crime
  • Malware
  • DarkWatchman RAT uses Windows Registry fileless storage mechanism

DarkWatchman RAT uses Windows Registry fileless storage mechanism

Pierluigi Paganini December 20, 2021

DarkWatchman is a new lightweight javascript-based Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that uses novel methods for fileless persistence.

Recently Prevailion experts detected a malicious javascript-based Remote Access Trojan (RAT) dubbed DarkWatchman that uses a robust Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) to contact the C2 infrastructure and novel methods for fileless persistence, on-system activity, and dynamic run-time capabilities like self-updating and recompilation. 

The DarkWatchman RAT uses the registry for nearly all temporary and permanent storage, it doesn’t write to disk evading most security tools. 

The DarkWatchman has been distributed through phishing emails that use malicious ZIP archives (named ‘Накладная №12-6317-3621.zip’ (translated: Invoice #12-6317-3621)) containing an executable set to appear to be a text document.

DarkWatchman

The executable is a self-installing WinRAR archive that will install the RAT and keylogger.

“This executable is a WinRAR SFX self installing archive that contains two files: ‘134121811.js’ (the JavaScript RAT) and ‘2204722946’ (the C# source code for the keylogger).” reads the analysis published by Prevailion. “The WinRAR SFX configuration file contains comments in Russian and instructions to drop both files in %TEMP% before executing the .JS file with the name of the WinRAR SFX executable as a command line argument.”

The malware was used by Russian-speaking actors to target mainly Russian entities.

Upon initial execution, the malware first checks the Windows Registry to determine if DarkWatchman has already been installed. Then the user is shown a message that informs him that “Unknown Format” while installing the payloads in the background.

DarkWatchman uses the Windows Registry fileless storage mechanism for the keylogger, It creates a scheduled task is to use WScript to execute the malware at every user log on. 

When the RAT is launched, it executes a PowerShell script which, in turn, compiles the keylogger (using CSC) and executes it.

“The keylogger itself does not communicate with the C2 or write to disk. Instead, it writes it’s keylog to a registry key that it uses as a buffer. During its operation, the RAT scrapes and clears this buffer before transmitting the logged keystrokes to the C2 server.” continues the analysis.

Once launched, DarkWatchmen will execute a PowerShell script that compiles the keylogger using the .NET CSC.exe command and launches it into memory.

“The keylogger itself does not communicate with the C2 or write to disk. Instead, it writes it’s keylog to a registry key that it uses as a buffer. During its operation, the RAT scrapes and clears this buffer before transmitting the logged keystrokes to the C2 server.” states the report.

The malware also stores data to exfiltrate to the registry until it’s transferred to the C2.

DarkWatchman supports the following functionalities:

  • Execute EXE files (with or without the output returned)
  • Load DLL files
  • Execute commands on the command line
  • Execute WSH commands
  • Execute miscellaneous commands via WMI
  • Execute PowerShell commands
  • Evaluate JavaScript
  • Upload files to the C2 server from the victim machine
  • Remotely stop and uninstall the RAT and Keylogger
  • Remotely update the C2 server address or call-home timeout

According to the researcher, DarkWatchman was likely developed to support the operations of RaaS affiliates. 

“One interesting hypothesis is that the ransomware operators could provide something like DarkWatchman to their less technologically capable affiliates, and once the affiliate gains a foothold in the system, it automatically communicates back to domains the operator controls. This would eliminate the need to have the affiliate deploy the ransomware or handle file exfiltration, and would move the ransomware operator from a negotiator role to actively controlling the infection.” concludes the report. “The capabilities and functionality of both the JavaScript and C# elements of DarkWatchman indicate a capable threat actor.”

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, malware)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Cybercrime DarkWatchman hacking news information security news IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini RAT Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 30, 2025
PyPI maintainers alert users to email verification phishing attack
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 30, 2025
FBI seizes 20 BTC from Chaos Ransomware affiliate targeting Texas firms
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    PyPI maintainers alert users to email verification phishing attack

    Hacking / July 30, 2025

    FBI seizes 20 BTC from Chaos Ransomware affiliate targeting Texas firms

    Cyber Crime / July 30, 2025

    Critical SAP flaw exploited to launch Auto-Color Malware attack on U.S. company

    Malware / July 30, 2025

    Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions

    Security / July 29, 2025

    Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea

    Data Breach / July 29, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT