SYMBOLCOMMON_NAMEaka. SYNONYMS
win.tonedeaf (Back to overview)

TONEDEAF

Actor(s): APT34

VTCollection    

TONEDEAF is a backdoor that communicates with Command and Control servers using HTTP or DNS. Supported commands include system information collection, file upload, file download, and arbitrary shell command execution. When executed, this variant of TONEDEAF wrote encrypted data to two temporary files – temp.txt and temp2.txt – within the same directory of its execution.

References
2021-04-08CheckpointCheck Point Research
Iran’s APT34 Returns with an Updated Arsenal
DNSpionage SideTwist TONEDEAF
2020-01-30IntezerMichael Kajiloti, Paul Litvak
New Iranian Campaign Tailored to US Companies Utilizes an Updated Toolset
TONEDEAF VALUEVAULT
2019-07-18FireEyeJessica Rocchio, Matt Bromiley, Nick Schroeder, Noah Klapprodt
Hard Pass: Declining APT34’s Invite to Join Their Professional Network
LONGWATCH PICKPOCKET TONEDEAF VALUEVAULT
Yara Rules
[TLP:WHITE] win_tonedeaf_auto (20260504 | Detects win.tonedeaf.)
rule win_tonedeaf_auto {

    meta:
        author = "Felix Bilstein - yara-signator at cocacoding dot com"
        date = "2026-05-04"
        version = "1"
        description = "Detects win.tonedeaf."
        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.tonedeaf"
        malpedia_rule_date = "20260422"
        malpedia_hash = "a182e35da64e6d71cb55f125c4d4225196523f14"
        malpedia_version = "20260504"
        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 = { 8d7601 884c32ff 84c9 75f3 8bf3 8a03 }
            // n = 6, score = 400
            //   8d7601               | lea                 esi, [esi + 1]
            //   884c32ff             | mov                 byte ptr [edx + esi - 1], cl
            //   84c9                 | test                cl, cl
            //   75f3                 | jne                 0xfffffff5
            //   8bf3                 | mov                 esi, ebx
            //   8a03                 | mov                 al, byte ptr [ebx]

        $sequence_1 = { 2bf1 8bc3 46 d1e8 }
            // n = 4, score = 400
            //   2bf1                 | sub                 esi, ecx
            //   8bc3                 | mov                 eax, ebx
            //   46                   | inc                 esi
            //   d1e8                 | shr                 eax, 1

        $sequence_2 = { f645e41f 7405 e8???????? 8b46fc 3bc6 }
            // n = 5, score = 400
            //   f645e41f             | test                byte ptr [ebp - 0x1c], 0x1f
            //   7405                 | je                  7
            //   e8????????           |                     
            //   8b46fc               | mov                 eax, dword ptr [esi - 4]
            //   3bc6                 | cmp                 eax, esi

        $sequence_3 = { 46 d1e8 33d2 8bc8 03c3 }
            // n = 5, score = 400
            //   46                   | inc                 esi
            //   d1e8                 | shr                 eax, 1
            //   33d2                 | xor                 edx, edx
            //   8bc8                 | mov                 ecx, eax
            //   03c3                 | add                 eax, ebx

        $sequence_4 = { 8d4af8 898c153cffffff 8d45a8 c745fc01000000 }
            // n = 4, score = 400
            //   8d4af8               | lea                 ecx, [edx - 8]
            //   898c153cffffff       | mov                 dword ptr [ebp + edx - 0xc4], ecx
            //   8d45a8               | lea                 eax, [ebp - 0x58]
            //   c745fc01000000       | mov                 dword ptr [ebp - 4], 1

        $sequence_5 = { c745dc00000000 33c0 660fd645d4 33db 8945d8 895dd4 }
            // n = 6, score = 400
            //   c745dc00000000       | mov                 dword ptr [ebp - 0x24], 0
            //   33c0                 | xor                 eax, eax
            //   660fd645d4           | movq                qword ptr [ebp - 0x2c], xmm0
            //   33db                 | xor                 ebx, ebx
            //   8945d8               | mov                 dword ptr [ebp - 0x28], eax
            //   895dd4               | mov                 dword ptr [ebp - 0x2c], ebx

        $sequence_6 = { 84c9 75f3 8bf3 8a03 43 }
            // n = 5, score = 400
            //   84c9                 | test                cl, cl
            //   75f3                 | jne                 0xfffffff5
            //   8bf3                 | mov                 esi, ebx
            //   8a03                 | mov                 al, byte ptr [ebx]
            //   43                   | inc                 ebx

        $sequence_7 = { 75f3 8bf3 8a03 43 84c0 75f9 }
            // n = 6, score = 400
            //   75f3                 | jne                 0xfffffff5
            //   8bf3                 | mov                 esi, ebx
            //   8a03                 | mov                 al, byte ptr [ebx]
            //   43                   | inc                 ebx
            //   84c0                 | test                al, al
            //   75f9                 | jne                 0xfffffffb

        $sequence_8 = { ff15???????? 56 ff15???????? 56 ff15???????? 56 e8???????? }
            // n = 7, score = 400
            //   ff15????????         |                     
            //   56                   | push                esi
            //   ff15????????         |                     
            //   56                   | push                esi
            //   ff15????????         |                     
            //   56                   | push                esi
            //   e8????????           |                     

        $sequence_9 = { 75f3 8bf3 8a03 43 84c0 }
            // n = 5, score = 400
            //   75f3                 | jne                 0xfffffff5
            //   8bf3                 | mov                 esi, ebx
            //   8a03                 | mov                 al, byte ptr [ebx]
            //   43                   | inc                 ebx
            //   84c0                 | test                al, al

    condition:
        7 of them and filesize < 851968
}
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