SYMBOLCOMMON_NAMEaka. SYNONYMS
win.pixynet_loader (Back to overview)

PixyNetLoader

Actor(s): APT28

VTCollection    

The PixyNetLoader DLL is a loader installed via COM persistence by a dropper, typically a SimpleDropper embedded in a vulnerability exploitation code. PixyNetLoader loads a .PNG companion file, extracts a payload from the pixels’ LSBs using steganography techniques, decrypts and executes it. 3 sub-families have been identified so far, starting from December 2024 to at least April 2026.

References
2026-06-01 ⋅ ExaTrack ⋅ ExaTrack
Tracking APT28 PixyNetLoader: Evolutions from 2024 to 2026
PixyNetLoader
2026-02-02 ⋅ Zscaler ⋅ Roy Tay, Sudeep Singh
APT28 Leverages CVE-2026-21509 in Operation Neusploit
PixyNetLoader
Yara Rules
[TLP:WHITE] win_pixynet_loader_auto (20260917 | Detects win.pixynet_loader.)
rule win_pixynet_loader_auto {

    meta:
        author = "Felix Bilstein - yara-signator at cocacoding dot com"
        date = "2026-09-17"
        version = "1"
        description = "Detects win.pixynet_loader."
        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.pixynet_loader"
        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 = { 488d0daeea0000 e8???????? 4883781807 7603 488b00 }
            // n = 5, score = 100
            //   488d0daeea0000       | movups              xmmword ptr [edx], xmm0
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   4883781807           | dec                 eax
            //   7603                 | mov                 dword ptr [edx + 0x10], edi
            //   488b00               | dec                 eax

        $sequence_1 = { 488d05176e0000 488bd9 483bc8 7418 8b815c010000 90 }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   488d05176e0000       | mov                 ecx, 0x19
            //   488bd9               | dec                 esp
            //   483bc8               | lea                 eax, [0x8f58]
            //   7418                 | dec                 eax
            //   8b815c010000         | lea                 edx, [0x8f55]
            //   90                   | dec                 esp

        $sequence_2 = { 488bf1 0f1102 48897a10 488bcb 48897a18 448d473d }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   488bf1               | dec                 eax
            //   0f1102               | mov                 edx, ebp
            //   48897a10             | dec                 eax
            //   488bcb               | sar                 edx, 6
            //   48897a18             | dec                 esp
            //   448d473d             | mov                 dword ptr [ebx + eax], esi

        $sequence_3 = { eb22 488d3de02e0800 eb19 488d3dcf2e0800 eb10 488d3dd62e0800 eb07 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   eb22                 | xor                 ecx, ecx
            //   488d3de02e0800       | dec                 eax
            //   eb19                 | mov                 ecx, dword ptr [esp + 0x48]
            //   488d3dcf2e0800       | test                eax, eax
            //   eb10                 | je                  0x176
            //   488d3dd62e0800       | dec                 eax
            //   eb07                 | lea                 edx, [0xb7c1]

        $sequence_4 = { f3aa 498bc1 5f c3 488bc1 4c8bc9 4c8d158308ffff }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   f3aa                 | dec                 eax
            //   498bc1               | test                ecx, ecx
            //   5f                   | je                  0x37b
            //   c3                   | dec                 eax
            //   488bc1               | and                 dword ptr [ebx + edi], 0
            //   4c8bc9               | xor                 ebx, ebx
            //   4c8d158308ffff       | dec                 esp

        $sequence_5 = { 4883f81f 0f87f3000000 498bc8 e8???????? 48ffc3 483bde }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   4883f81f             | lea                 eax, [0xf4a4]
            //   0f87f3000000         | dec                 eax
            //   498bc8               | mov                 dword ptr [ebx], eax
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   48ffc3               | dec                 eax
            //   483bde               | lea                 ecx, [eax + 8]

        $sequence_6 = { 488bc2 488d0db1e40000 0f57c0 48890b 488d5308 488d4808 }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   488bc2               | mov                 edi, edx
            //   488d0db1e40000       | dec                 esp
            //   0f57c0               | mov                 dword ptr [ebp - 0x30], esp
            //   48890b               | dec                 eax
            //   488d5308             | mov                 edi, ecx
            //   488d4808             | dec                 esp

        $sequence_7 = { 488bcb ff15???????? ba5c000000 488bcb e8???????? 4885c0 743e }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   488bcb               | cmp                 eax, 0x1f
            //   ff15????????         |                     
            //   ba5c000000           | ja                  0x759
            //   488bcb               | dec                 ecx
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   4885c0               | mov                 ecx, eax
            //   743e                 | dec                 ecx

        $sequence_8 = { 4c8d0de5dc0000 b901000000 4c8d05d1dc0000 488d15d2dc0000 e8???????? 8bcb }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   4c8d0de5dc0000       | lea                 eax, [0xdcd1]
            //   b901000000           | dec                 eax
            //   4c8d05d1dc0000       | lea                 edx, [0xdcd2]
            //   488d15d2dc0000       | mov                 ecx, ebx
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   8bcb                 | mov                 ecx, 2

        $sequence_9 = { e8???????? 488d15d76b0100 488d4c2420 e8???????? }
            // n = 4, score = 100
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   488d15d76b0100       | lea                 edx, [ebp - 0x19]
            //   488d4c2420           | dec                 eax
            //   e8????????           |                     

    condition:
        7 of them and filesize < 1183744
}
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