Padodor Backdoor Exhibiting Classic Berbew Traits and Registry Modifications


Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report

A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2025-11-11 23:17:21 UTC

Executive Overview — What We’re Dealing With

This specimen has persisted long enough to matter. Human experts classified it as Malware, and the telemetry confirms a capable, evasive Trojan with real impact potential.

File
a7tlh.exe
Type
PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows
SHA‑1
d0671175ce1532f04b30b916b441d01233d4d108
MD5
eab80bf2027e3e90c82e2c86aad86d65
First Seen
2025-10-06 07:14:59.595216
Last Analysis
2025-10-06 13:37:17.723307
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Extended Dwell Time Impact

For 6+ hours, this malware remained undetected — a several-hour window that allowed the adversary to complete initial compromise and begin early-stage persistence establishment.

Comparative Context

Industry studies report a median dwell time closer to 21–24 days. This case represents rapid detection and containment within hours rather than days.

Timeline

Time (UTC) Event Elapsed
2025-09-01 19:16:27 UTC First VirusTotal submission
2025-10-08 14:09:08 UTC Latest analysis snapshot 36 days, 18 hours, 52 minutes
2025-11-11 23:17:21 UTC Report generation time 64 days, 11 hours, 57 minutes

Why It Matters

Every additional day of dwell time is not just an abstract number — it is attacker opportunity. Each day equates to more time for lateral movement, stealth persistence, and intelligence gathering.

Global Detection Posture — Who Caught It, Who Missed It

VirusTotal engines: 73. Detected as malicious: 70. Missed: 3. Coverage: 95.9%.

Detected Vendors

  • Xcitium
  • +69 additional vendors (names not provided)

List includes Xcitium plus an additional 69 vendors per the provided summary.

Missed Vendors

  • CMC
  • TrendMicro
  • Yandex

Why it matters: if any endpoint relies solely on a missed engine, this malware can operate with zero alerts. Prevention‑first controls close that gap regardless of signature lag.

Behavioral Storyline — How the Malware Operates

Dominant system-level operations (42.53% of behavior) suggest this malware performs deep system reconnaissance, privilege escalation, or core OS manipulation. It’s actively probing system defenses and attempting to gain administrative control.

Behavior Categories (weighted)

Weight values represent the frequency and intensity of malware interactions with specific system components. Higher weights indicate more aggressive targeting of that category. Each operation (registry access, file modification, network connection, etc.) contributes to the category’s total weight, providing a quantitative measure of the malware’s behavioral focus.

Category Weight Percentage
System 3287 42.53%
Registry 2123 27.47%
File System 1544 19.98%
Process 581 7.52%
Synchronization 194 2.51%

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

  • T1027 – encode data using XOR
  • T1027.002 – packed with generic packer
  • T1045 – Manalize Local SandBox Packer Harvesting
  • T1027 – encode data using XOR
  • T1027.002 – packed with generic packer

Following the Trail — Network & DNS Activity

Outbound activity leans on reputable infrastructure (e.g., CDNs, cloud endpoints) to blend in. TLS sessions and
HTTP calls show routine beaconing and IP‑lookup behavior that can masquerade as normal browsing.

Contacted Domains

Domain IP Country ASN/Org
www.msftncsi.com 2.18.67.72 Europe Akamai Technologies
www.aieov.com 76.223.54.146 United States Amazon.com, Inc.

Observed IPs

IP Country ASN/Org
224.0.0.252
239.255.255.250
8.8.4.4 United States Google LLC
8.8.8.8 United States Google LLC

DNS Queries

Request Type
www.msftncsi.com A
5isohu.com A
www.aieov.com A

Contacted IPs

IP Country ASN/Org
224.0.0.252
239.255.255.250
8.8.4.4 United States Google LLC
8.8.8.8 United States Google LLC

Port Distribution

Port Count Protocols
137 1 udp
5355 5 udp
53 14 udp
3702 1 udp

UDP Packets

Source IP Dest IP Sport Dport Time Proto
192.168.56.11 192.168.56.255 137 137 3.266413927078247 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 49563 5355 3.1712229251861572 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 54650 5355 3.1827750205993652 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 55601 5355 4.752007007598877 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 60205 5355 3.1996381282806396 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 62798 5355 5.764435052871704 udp
192.168.56.11 239.255.255.250 62184 3702 3.187394142150879 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51690 53 7.389471054077148 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51899 53 5.768019914627075 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 56213 53 39.181894063949585 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 58917 53 97.1348659992218 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 59770 53 55.43181014060974 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 62329 53 78.52585792541504 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 63439 53 22.90061902999878 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51690 53 8.385033130645752 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51899 53 6.760066032409668 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 56213 53 38.19351601600647 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 58917 53 96.14239811897278 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 59770 53 54.43694806098938 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 62329 53 77.53844594955444 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 63439 53 21.905369997024536 udp

Hunting tip: alert on unknown binaries initiating TLS to IP‑lookup services or unusual CDN endpoints — especially early in execution.

What To Do Now — Practical Defense Playbook

  • Contain unknowns: block first‑run binaries by default — signatures catch up, containment works now.
  • EDR controls: alert on keyboard hooks, screen capture APIs, VM/sandbox checks, and command‑shell launches.
  • Registry watch: flag queries/sets under policy paths (e.g., …\FipsAlgorithmPolicy\*).
  • Network rules: inspect outbound TLS to IP‑lookup services and unexpected CDN endpoints.
  • Hunt broadly: sweep endpoints for the indicators above and quarantine positives immediately.

Dwell time equals attacker opportunity. Reducing execution privileges and egress shrinks that window even when vendors disagree.

Scroll to Top