tool

STARWHALE S1037

Type: malware
Platform: Windows
Created: 18 August 2022
Last modified: 11 April 2024

STARWHALE is Windows Script File (WSF) backdoor that has been used by MuddyWater, possibly since at least November 2021; there is also a STARWHALE variant written in Golang with similar capabilities. Security researchers have also noted the use of STARWHALE by UNC3313, which may be associated with MuddyWater.[1][2]

Techniques61st pct

TacticsTop 20%

Threat groupunranked

CampaignsNone recorded

Enterprise ATT&CK only. Any Mobile or ICS rows on the same ATT&CK page are not carried.

MITRE reference S1037

Data from Local System T1005↗

STARWHALE can collect data from an infected local host.3

Collection22 detection rules

System Network Configuration Discovery T1016↗

STARWHALE has the ability to collect the IP address of an infected host.4

Discovery25 detection rules

Encrypted/Encoded File T1027.013↗

STARWHALE has been obfuscated with hex-encoded strings.5

Stealth1 detection rules

System Owner/User Discovery T1033↗

STARWHALE can gather the username from an infected host.6 7

Discovery47 detection rules

Exfiltration Over C2 Channel T1041↗

STARWHALE can exfiltrate collected data to its C2 servers.8

Exfiltration16 detection rules

Windows Command Shell T1059.003↗

STARWHALE has the ability to execute commands via cmd.exe.9

Execution61 detection rules

Standing S1037

Reach is how much of ATT&CK this tool touches. Coverage is how well defended each thing it does is, as a median per technique rather than a total — a total would just restate the reach. Each figure is ranked against all 825 ATT&CK software entries only where that population actually spreads. Where most of the population shares one value, a percentile would rank the tie instead of the entity, so the raw value is shown and no rank is claimed.

Reach

Techniques1461st pct

61st percentile · 61% of 825 ATT&CK software entries have this many Enterprise techniques or fewer.

Tactics8Top 20%

80th percentile · 80% of 825 ATT&CK software entries have this many tactics spanned or fewer.

Threat group161% tie · 22 values

61% of the population shares a single value across only 22 distinct values, so a percentile here would rank the tie, not the entity.

Campaigns085% tie · 8 values

85% of the population shares a single value across only 8 distinct values, so a percentile here would rank the tie, not the entity.

Coverage

Rules / technique41medTop 13%

87th percentile · 87% of 825 ATT&CK software entries have this many detection rules per technique or fewer.

Tests / technique4.5med

Detection coverage S1037

484 distinct rules cover the 14 techniques recorded for this tool. The 513 technique-to-rule mappings resolve to 484 distinct rules, because one rule can cover several techniques. 340 Sigma · 144 Splunk.

14 covered by at least one rule484 distinct rules in total

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MITRE reference S1037

Reach

Coverage

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