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S1134 DEADWOOD

DEADWOOD is wiper malware written in C++ using Boost libraries. DEADWOOD was first observed in an unattributed wiping event in Saudi Arabia in 2019, and has since been incorporated into Agrius operations.1

Item Value
ID S1134
Associated Names
Type MALWARE
Version 1.0
Created 22 May 2024
Last Modified 26 August 2024
Navigation Layer View In ATT&CK® Navigator

Techniques Used

Domain ID Name Use
enterprise T1531 Account Access Removal DEADWOOD changes the password for local and domain users via net.exe to a random 32 character string to prevent these accounts from logging on. Additionally, DEADWOOD will terminate the winlogon.exe process to prevent attempts to log on to the infected system.1
enterprise T1485 Data Destruction DEADWOOD overwrites files on victim systems with random data to effectively destroy them.1
enterprise T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information DEADWOOD XORs some strings within the binary using the value 0xD5, and deobfuscates these items at runtime.1
enterprise T1561 Disk Wipe -
enterprise T1561.001 Disk Content Wipe DEADWOOD deletes files following overwriting them with random data.1
enterprise T1561.002 Disk Structure Wipe DEADWOOD opens and writes zeroes to the first 512 bytes of each drive, deleting the MBR. DEADWOOD then sends the control code IOCTL_DISK_DELETE_DRIVE_LAYOUT to ensure the MBR is removed from the drive.1
enterprise T1036 Masquerading -
enterprise T1036.004 Masquerade Task or Service DEADWOOD will attempt to masquerade its service execution using benign-looking names such as ScDeviceEnums.1
enterprise T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information -
enterprise T1027.009 Embedded Payloads DEADWOOD contains an embedded, AES-encrypted payload labeled METADATA that provides configuration information for follow-on execution.1
enterprise T1027.013 Encrypted/Encoded File DEADWOOD contains an embedded, AES-encrypted resource named METADATA that contains configuration information for follow-on execution.1
enterprise T1569 System Services -
enterprise T1569.002 Service Execution DEADWOOD can be executed as a service using various names, such as ScDeviceEnums.1
enterprise T1124 System Time Discovery DEADWOOD will set a timestamp value to determine when wiping functionality starts. When the timestamp is met on the system, a trigger file is created on the operating system allowing for execution to proceed. If the timestamp is in the past, the wiper will execute immediately.1

Groups That Use This Software

ID Name References
G0064 APT33 DEADWOOD was previously linked to APT33 operations in 2019.2
G1030 Agrius DEADWOOD has been used by Agrius in wiping operations.1

References