• 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

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

 | 

Mitel patches critical MiVoice MX-ONE Auth bypass flaw

 | 

Coyote malware is first-ever malware abusing Windows UI Automation

 | 

SonicWall fixed critical flaw in SMA 100 devices exploited in Overstep malware attacks

 | 

DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033

 | 

Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder

 | 

U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

 | 

French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

 | 

Microsoft linked attacks on SharePoint flaws to China-nexus actors

 | 

Cisco confirms active exploitation of ISE and ISE-PIC flaws

 | 

SharePoint under fire: new ToolShell attacks target enterprises

 | 

CrushFTP zero-day actively exploited at least since July 18

 | 

Hardcoded credentials found in HPE Aruba Instant On Wi-Fi devices

 | 

MuddyWater deploys new DCHSpy variants amid Iran-Israel conflict

 | 
  • 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
  • Colibri Loader employs clever persistence mechanism

Colibri Loader employs clever persistence mechanism

Pierluigi Paganini April 07, 2022

Recently discovered malware loader Colibri leverages a trivial and efficient persistence mechanism to deploy Windows Vidar data stealer.

Malwarebytes researchers observed a new loader, dubbed Colibri, which has been used to deploy a Windows information stealer tracked as Vidar in a recent campaign.

The Colibri Loader first appeared in the threat landscape in August 2021 when it was advertised in the underground forums. The campaign was first spotted by researchers from cybersecurity company CloudSEK earlier this year, but Malwarebytes focused on the persistence mechanism used by Colibri.

The attack chain starts with a weaponized Word document that was used to deliver the Colibri loader that in turn delivers the Vidar infostealer.

“Our Threat Intelligence Team recently uncovered a new Colibri Loader campaign delivering the Vidar Stealer as final payload.” reads the analysis published by the researchers. “The document contacts a remote server at (securetunnel[.]co) to load a remote template named ‘trkal0.dot’ that contacts a malicious macro,”

colibri

The attackers used the remote template injection technique to download the Colibri loader (“setup.exe”), the Word document was used to contact a remote server at (securetunnel[.]co) to load a remote template named trkal0.dot containing a malicious macro.

The loader drops its own copy to the location “%APPDATA%\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps” and names it “Get-Variable.exe” for Windows 10 and above, while for lower versions it drops it in %DOCUMENTS%/WindowsPowerShell named as dllhost.exe.

Colibri employed a simple as effective persistence mechanism based on PowerShell.

“On Windows 7, it creates a scheduled task using the following command:

  • schtasks.exe /create /tn COMSurrogate /st 00:00 /du 9999:59 /sc once /ri 1 /f /tr “C:\Users\admin\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\dllhost.exe“

On Windows 10 and above, it creates a scheduled task using the following command:

  • schtasks.exe /create /tn COMSurrogate /st 00:00 /du 9999:59 /sc once /ri 1 /f /tr “powershell.exe -windowstyle hidden“

In the first scenario (Win7), we see a task pointing to the path of Colibri Loader.” continues the analysis. “However, in the second we see an odd task to execute PowerShell with a hidden window. This is what we believe is a new persistence technique employed by the malware author.”

It achieves this by creating a scheduled task on systems running Windows 10 and above, with the loader executing a command to launch PowerShell with a hidden window (i.e., -WindowStyle Hidden) to conceal the malicious activity from being detected.

The Get-Variable is a valid PowerShell cmdlet (a cmdlet is a lightweight command used in the Windows PowerShell environment) that attackers use to retrieve the value of a variable in the current console.

Experts pointed out that WindowsApps is by default in the path where PowerShell is executed. When the Get-Variable command is issued on PowerShell execution, the system first looks for the Get-Variable executable in the path and executes the malicious binary instead of looking for the legitimate counterpart.

Threat actors can achieve persistence by using a scheduled task and a binary named Get-Variable.exe which is located in a specific folder.

Malwarebytes experts reproduced the persistence mechanism using the calculator:

 colibri persistence

“Colibri is still in its infancy but it already offers many features for attackers and slowly seems to be gaining popularity. The persistence technique we outlined in this blog is simple but efficient and does not appear to be known.” concludes the report.

Please vote Security Affairs as best European Cybersecurity Blogger Awards 2022 – VOTE FOR YOUR WINNERS
Vote for me in the sections “The Underdogs – Best Personal (non-commercial) Security Blog” and “The Tech Whizz – Best Technical Blog” and others of your choice.
To nominate, please visit: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfxxrxICiMZ9QM9iiPuMQIC-IoM-NpQMOsFZnJXrBQRYJGCOw/viewform  

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

colibri Cybercrime hacking news information security news IT Information Security loader malware Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 26, 2025
Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 26, 2025
Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

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

    recent articles

    Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

    Cyber Crime / July 26, 2025

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

    Intelligence / July 26, 2025

    Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

    Intelligence / July 25, 2025

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

    Security / July 25, 2025

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

    Malware / July 25, 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