SYMBOLCOMMON_NAMEaka. SYNONYMS
win.sagerunex (Back to overview)

Sagerunex

Actor(s): LOTUS PANDA

VTCollection    

According to Symantec, Sagerunex is a backdoor that is fairly resilient and implements multiple forms of communication with its command-and-control (C&C) server. Its logs are encrypted and the encryption algorithm used is AES256-CBC with 8192 rounds of SHA256 for key derivation based on a hardcoded key. It supports multiple modes methods for communicating via HTTP (proxy-aware).

References
2026-01-02 ⋅ Securite360.net ⋅ Muffin
The Intriguing Lotus: A Deep Dive into Sagerunex
Sagerunex
2022-11-15 ⋅ Symantec ⋅ Threat Hunter Team
Billbug: State-sponsored Actor Targets Cert Authority, Government Agencies in Multiple Asian Countries
Sagerunex
2022-11-15 ⋅ Symantec ⋅ Threat Hunter Team
Billbug: State-sponsored Actor Targets Cert Authority, Government Agencies in Multiple Asian Countries
Sagerunex LOTUS PANDA
Yara Rules
[TLP:WHITE] win_sagerunex_auto (20260917 | Detects win.sagerunex.)
rule win_sagerunex_auto {

    meta:
        author = "Felix Bilstein - yara-signator at cocacoding dot com"
        date = "2026-09-17"
        version = "1"
        description = "Detects win.sagerunex."
        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.sagerunex"
        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 = { 488d542430 e8???????? 8bd8 85f6 7e6a 488d0d1a500300 448bc6 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   488d542430           | mov                 ecx, edi
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   8bd8                 | mov                 dword ptr [esp + 0x28], ebx
            //   85f6                 | dec                 eax
            //   7e6a                 | mov                 dword ptr [esp + 0x20], ebp
            //   488d0d1a500300       | dec                 ebp
            //   448bc6               | mov                 eax, edi

        $sequence_1 = { 4883e808 48ffcb 75f1 488bc1 4885c9 7418 48ffc9 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   4883e808             | lea                 edx, [edi + 0x130]
            //   48ffcb               | dec                 eax
            //   75f1                 | dec                 ebx
            //   488bc1               | je                  0x10e7
            //   4885c9               | dec                 eax
            //   7418                 | lea                 eax, [eax + ebx*8]
            //   48ffc9               | nop                 word ptr [eax + eax]

        $sequence_2 = { 49c1ea08 443378f4 48c1e910 440fb6c1 418bcb 478ba48650510400 48c1e908 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   49c1ea08             | ja                  0x1515
            //   443378f4             | jb                  0x1563
            //   48c1e910             | dec                 eax
            //   440fb6c1             | sub                 eax, 8
            //   418bcb               | dec                 ecx
            //   478ba48650510400     | dec                 edi
            //   48c1e908             | jne                 0x154a

        $sequence_3 = { 4d03c6 e8???????? 0fb74b04 4803cb e8???????? 418d54240f 664103c4 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   4d03c6               | mov                 edx, ebp
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   0fb74b04             | add                 ecx, eax
            //   4803cb               | mov                 eax, ebp
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   418d54240f           | inc                 esp
            //   664103c4             | add                 ebx, ecx

        $sequence_4 = { 498be8 488bfa bbec000000 488d4c2420 33d2 448bc3 418bf1 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   498be8               | mov                 esi, dword ptr [esp + 0x170]
            //   488bfa               | dec                 esp
            //   bbec000000           | mov                 ebp, dword ptr [esp + 0x178]
            //   488d4c2420           | jne                 0xc46
            //   33d2                 | dec                 eax
            //   448bc3               | lea                 ecx, [esp + 0x50]
            //   418bf1               | mov                 byte ptr [ecx], 0

        $sequence_5 = { 0fb77c246c 4103c5 418d5ffe 03f8 e8???????? 0fb774246c 03c3 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   0fb77c246c           | dec                 eax
            //   4103c5               | xor                 eax, esp
            //   418d5ffe             | dec                 eax
            //   03f8                 | mov                 dword ptr [esp + 0x40], eax
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   0fb774246c           | inc                 ecx
            //   03c3                 | mov                 esi, ecx

        $sequence_6 = { e8???????? 81be34c800004d9aaa00 0f84b0000000 488d0dda2c0400 ff15???????? 488d442430 }
            // n = 6, score = 100
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   81be34c800004d9aaa00     | inc    esp
            //   0f84b0000000         | mov                 esi, edx
            //   488d0dda2c0400       | inc                 esp
            //   ff15????????         |                     
            //   488d442430           | imul                esi, ecx

        $sequence_7 = { 4d2bf7 4c8b7c2470 4983c7f8 4f8d3cf7 49c707ffffffff e9???????? 4c8b642438 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   4d2bf7               | lea                 ecx, [ebp - 0x50]
            //   4c8b7c2470           | mov                 eax, dword ptr [ebp - 0x24]
            //   4983c7f8             | lea                 edx, [eax + eax]
            //   4f8d3cf7             | mov                 dword ptr [ebp - 0x24], edx
            //   49c707ffffffff       | jmp                 0x1b2
            //   e9????????           |                     
            //   4c8b642438           | dec                 eax

        $sequence_8 = { 418bc1 41c1e903 c1c807 33c8 418d0412 448b542428 4433c9 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   418bc1               | push                esp
            //   41c1e903             | dec                 eax
            //   c1c807               | sub                 esp, 0x68
            //   33c8                 | dec                 eax
            //   418d0412             | mov                 dword ptr [eax + 0x18], ebp
            //   448b542428           | dec                 esp
            //   4433c9               | mov                 dword ptr [eax - 0x18], ebp

        $sequence_9 = { 0f8506010000 488bcb e8???????? 488d0d7e530300 41c78644c800000c000000 e8???????? 4533c0 }
            // n = 7, score = 100
            //   0f8506010000         | mov                 dword ptr [esp + 0x20], ebx
            //   488bcb               | push                edi
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   488d0d7e530300       | dec                 eax
            //   41c78644c800000c000000     | add    esp, 0xc860
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   4533c0               | inc                 ecx

    condition:
        7 of them and filesize < 619520
}
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