SYMBOLCOMMON_NAMEaka. SYNONYMS
win.pterois (Back to overview)

Pterois

Actor(s): Swan Vector

VTCollection    

According to Seqrite, this is a loader for a follow-up side-loaded and in memory-staged Cobalt Strike Beacon. It uses API hashing (SDBM) and pulls the next stage from Google Drive using hardcoded access credentials.

References
2025-05-12 ⋅ Seqrite ⋅ Sathwik Ram Prakki, Subhajeet Singha
Unveiling Swan Vector APT Targeting Taiwan and Japan with varied DLL Implants
Pterois Swan Vector
Yara Rules
[TLP:WHITE] win_pterois_auto (20260917 | Detects win.pterois.)
rule win_pterois_auto {

    meta:
        author = "Felix Bilstein - yara-signator at cocacoding dot com"
        date = "2026-09-17"
        version = "1"
        description = "Detects win.pterois."
        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.pterois"
        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 = { 4883ec28 e8???????? 83f800 0f850d000000 c7442424ffffffff e9???????? e8???????? }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   4883ec28             | dec                 esp
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   83f800               | lea                 edx, [0xfffdf1a6]
            //   0f850d000000         | dec                 ecx
            //   c7442424ffffffff     | cmp                 eax, 0xf
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   e8????????           |                     

        $sequence_1 = { 488b4020 4889442440 e9???????? 488b4c2438 488d15b14a0300 e8???????? }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   488b4020             | movzx               eax, byte ptr [esp + 0x37]
            //   4889442440           | sub                 eax, 1
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   488b4c2438           | mov                 byte ptr [esp + 0x36], al
            //   488d15b14a0300       | xor                 eax, eax
            //   e8????????           |                     

        $sequence_2 = { 4c8bd2 4c8bd9 418a03 413a841978b00200 740a 413a841980b00200 7541 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   4c8bd2               | dec                 ebx
            //   4c8bd9               | mov                 eax, dword ptr [ebx + ebp*8 + 0x37af0]
            //   418a03               | inc                 edx
            //   413a841978b00200     | or                  byte ptr [eax + edi*8 + 0x3d], 4
            //   740a                 | lea                 eax, [edx + 1]
            //   413a841980b00200     | mov                 dword ptr [ebx + 4], eax
            //   7541                 | jmp                 0x18c

        $sequence_3 = { 0fb68cb822af0200 0fb6b4b823af0200 488d1c8d00000000 8d040e 4c8bc3 488d8da4080000 8985a0080000 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   0fb68cb822af0200     | mov                 eax, dword ptr [esp + 0x38]
            //   0fb6b4b823af0200     | mov                 eax, dword ptr [eax + 0x18]
            //   488d1c8d00000000     | and                 eax, 0x200
            //   8d040e               | cmp                 eax, 0
            //   4c8bc3               | jne                 0xfe7
            //   488d8da4080000       | dec                 eax
            //   8985a0080000         | mov                 eax, dword ptr [esp + 0x38]

        $sequence_4 = { 48894808 e9???????? 488b442408 48c7400800000000 488b442408 48c70000000000 488b442408 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   48894808             | dec                 eax
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   488b442408           | lea                 ecx, [esp + 0xc60]
            //   48c7400800000000     | dec                 eax
            //   488b442408           | mov                 ecx, eax
            //   48c70000000000       | dec                 eax
            //   488b442408           | mov                 eax, dword ptr [esp + 0x28]

        $sequence_5 = { 0f84c5010000 e9???????? 8b44242c 83e820 0f84cb010000 e9???????? }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   0f84c5010000         | mov                 ecx, dword ptr [eax + 0x20]
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   8b44242c             | dec                 eax
            //   83e820               | mov                 eax, dword ptr [esp + 0x30]
            //   0f84cb010000         | dec                 eax
            //   e9????????           |                     

        $sequence_6 = { 488b0424 488b00 0fbe00 83f822 0f852d000000 488b442408 488b00 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   488b0424             | dec                 eax
            //   488b00               | lea                 ecx, [ecx + ecx*8]
            //   0fbe00               | dec                 ecx
            //   83f822               | mov                 eax, dword ptr [edx + eax*8]
            //   0f852d000000         | dec                 esp
            //   488b442408           | lea                 edx, [0xfffdf456]
            //   488b00               | dec                 ecx

        $sequence_7 = { 488b05???????? 4889842488000000 488b05???????? 4889842490000000 488b05???????? 4889842498000000 488d0d33480300 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   488b05????????       |                     
            //   4889842488000000     | cmp                 eax, 0
            //   488b05????????       |                     
            //   4889842490000000     | jne                 0x1e2f
            //   488b05????????       |                     
            //   4889842498000000     | dec                 esp
            //   488d0d33480300       | lea                 ebx, [esp + 0x80]

        $sequence_8 = { 0f8518000000 e9???????? 488b442428 4883c001 4889442428 e9???????? }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   0f8518000000         | inc                 ebp
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   488b442428           | xor                 eax, eax
            //   4883c001             | nop                 
            //   4889442428           | dec                 eax
            //   e9????????           |                     

        $sequence_9 = { e9???????? 488b442448 488b4810 4883c1ff 48894810 488b4c2448 }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   488b442448           | dec                 eax
            //   488b4810             | mov                 dword ptr [esp + 0x58], edx
            //   4883c1ff             | dec                 eax
            //   48894810             | mov                 dword ptr [esp + 0x50], ecx
            //   488b4c2448           | dec                 eax

    condition:
        7 of them and filesize < 528384
}
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