SYMBOLCOMMON_NAMEaka. SYNONYMS
win.lotuslite (Back to overview)

LOTUSLITE

Actor(s): MUSTANG PANDA

VTCollection    

According to Acronis, LOTUSLITE is a custom C++ backdoor delivered via DLL sideloading, where a simple loader executable is used to load a malicious DLL that acts as the primary implant. It establishes persistence through filesystem changes and user-run registry entries, and communicates with a hard-coded command-and-control server over HTTP(S) using the Windows HTTP APIs and a custom binary protocol. The malware supports espionage-focused capabilities including system and user enumeration, spawning an interactive command shell with redirected I/O, directory listing, and file read/write operations. Its code shows relatively low development maturity and limited evasive features, emphasizing rapid deployment and operational reliability over sophisticated stealth.

References
2026-06-09 ⋅ ExaTrack ⋅ ExaTrack
LotusLite: Believe me I am MustangPanda
LOTUSLITE
2026-05-13 ⋅ 0x3oBAD ⋅ Abdullah Islam
MustangPanda New Backdoor LotusLite
LOTUSLITE
2026-04-22 ⋅ Secure Blink ⋅ Secure Blink
Mustang Panda Strikes India and South Korea with Updated LOTUSLITE Backdoor in Espionage Campaign
LOTUSLITE
2026-01-15 ⋅ Acronis ⋅ Ilia Dafchev, Subhajeet Singha
LOTUSLITE: Targeted espionage leveraging geopolitical themes
LOTUSLITE
Yara Rules
[TLP:WHITE] win_lotuslite_auto (20260917 | Detects win.lotuslite.)
rule win_lotuslite_auto {

    meta:
        author = "Felix Bilstein - yara-signator at cocacoding dot com"
        date = "2026-09-17"
        version = "1"
        description = "Detects win.lotuslite."
        info = "autogenerated rule brought to you by yara-signator"
        tool = "yara-signator v0.6.0"
        signator_config = "callsandjumps;datarefs;binvalue"
        malpedia_reference = "https://malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de/details/win.lotuslite"
        malpedia_rule_date = "20260916"
        malpedia_hash = "53a643781c18e08f4a50949af60172d837a0b6f6"
        malpedia_version = "20260917"
        malpedia_license = "CC BY-SA 4.0"
        malpedia_sharing = "TLP:WHITE"

    /* DISCLAIMER
     * The strings used in this rule have been automatically selected from the
     * disassembly of memory dumps and unpacked files, using YARA-Signator.
     * The code and documentation is published here:
     * https://github.com/fxb-cocacoding/yara-signator
     * As Malpedia is used as data source, please note that for a given
     * number of families, only single samples are documented.
     * This likely impacts the degree of generalization these rules will offer.
     * Take the described generation method also into consideration when you
     * apply the rules in your use cases and assign them confidence levels.
     */


    strings:
        $sequence_0 = { e8???????? e9???????? 2bce 8d55e0 81f900000100 }
            // n = 5, score = 100
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   2bce                 | sub                 ecx, esi
            //   8d55e0               | lea                 edx, [ebp - 0x20]
            //   81f900000100         | cmp                 ecx, 0x10000

        $sequence_1 = { 833d????????00 0f85c1510000 c3 55 8bec 33c0 50 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   833d????????00       |                     
            //   0f85c1510000         | jne                 0x51c7
            //   c3                   | ret                 
            //   55                   | push                ebp
            //   8bec                 | mov                 ebp, esp
            //   33c0                 | xor                 eax, eax
            //   50                   | push                eax

        $sequence_2 = { 8d45f4 64a300000000 8bf9 807f7400 }
            // n = 4, score = 100
            //   8d45f4               | lea                 eax, [ebp - 0xc]
            //   64a300000000         | mov                 dword ptr fs:[0], eax
            //   8bf9                 | mov                 edi, ecx
            //   807f7400             | cmp                 byte ptr [edi + 0x74], 0

        $sequence_3 = { 0f8723fcffff 8bc8 51 e8???????? 83c404 }
            // n = 5, score = 100
            //   0f8723fcffff         | ja                  0xfffffc29
            //   8bc8                 | mov                 ecx, eax
            //   51                   | push                ecx
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   83c404               | add                 esp, 4

        $sequence_4 = { 57 8d1c85102f0510 8b03 8b15???????? 83cfff 8bca 8bf2 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   57                   | push                edi
            //   8d1c85102f0510       | lea                 ebx, [eax*4 + 0x10052f10]
            //   8b03                 | mov                 eax, dword ptr [ebx]
            //   8b15????????         |                     
            //   83cfff               | or                  edi, 0xffffffff
            //   8bca                 | mov                 ecx, edx
            //   8bf2                 | mov                 esi, edx

        $sequence_5 = { c78558ffffff00000000 c645fc03 8b45ec 83f810 723e 8b4dd8 40 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   c78558ffffff00000000     | mov    dword ptr [ebp - 0xa8], 0
            //   c645fc03             | mov                 byte ptr [ebp - 4], 3
            //   8b45ec               | mov                 eax, dword ptr [ebp - 0x14]
            //   83f810               | cmp                 eax, 0x10
            //   723e                 | jb                  0x40
            //   8b4dd8               | mov                 ecx, dword ptr [ebp - 0x28]
            //   40                   | inc                 eax

        $sequence_6 = { ba0b000000 b9???????? 0f431d???????? e8???????? 8bf0 ba12000000 8d85e8feffff }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   ba0b000000           | mov                 edx, 0xb
            //   b9????????           |                     
            //   0f431d????????       |                     
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   8bf0                 | mov                 esi, eax
            //   ba12000000           | mov                 edx, 0x12
            //   8d85e8feffff         | lea                 eax, [ebp - 0x118]

        $sequence_7 = { c78564feffff0f000000 c78560feffff00000000 c68550feffff00 83f810 7241 8b8d38feffff 40 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   c78564feffff0f000000     | mov    dword ptr [ebp - 0x19c], 0xf
            //   c78560feffff00000000     | mov    dword ptr [ebp - 0x1a0], 0
            //   c68550feffff00       | mov                 byte ptr [ebp - 0x1b0], 0
            //   83f810               | cmp                 eax, 0x10
            //   7241                 | jb                  0x43
            //   8b8d38feffff         | mov                 ecx, dword ptr [ebp - 0x1c8]
            //   40                   | inc                 eax

        $sequence_8 = { 53 ffd0 85c0 7425 ba???????? b9???????? e8???????? }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   53                   | push                ebx
            //   ffd0                 | call                eax
            //   85c0                 | test                eax, eax
            //   7425                 | je                  0x27
            //   ba????????           |                     
            //   b9????????           |                     
            //   e8????????           |                     

        $sequence_9 = { 83e13f c1f806 6bc930 8b0485982f0510 f644082801 7406 8b440818 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   83e13f               | and                 ecx, 0x3f
            //   c1f806               | sar                 eax, 6
            //   6bc930               | imul                ecx, ecx, 0x30
            //   8b0485982f0510       | mov                 eax, dword ptr [eax*4 + 0x10052f98]
            //   f644082801           | test                byte ptr [eax + ecx + 0x28], 1
            //   7406                 | je                  8
            //   8b440818             | mov                 eax, dword ptr [eax + ecx + 0x18]

    condition:
        7 of them and filesize < 744448
}
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