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Malware

HellsUchecker

HellsUchecker is a native x64 backdoor delivered at the end of a 10-stage ClickFix-driven intrusion chain. Reporting describes it as a 28 KB memory-resident PE that is decrypted, decompressed, and manually loaded entirely in memory, never written to disk. Initial access uses a fake Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA lure that tricks the victim into pasting an obfuscated command into Windows Run. That command abuses the Microsoft-signed LOLBin finger.exe over port 79 to retrieve batch commands, bootstrap a Python environment, and ultimately install an MSI dropper. The MSI deploys a BAT/MSBuild polyglot that reflectively loads a 6.5 MB .NET EtherHiding loader.

A notable feature of the delivery chain is EtherHiding-based C2 discovery: the .NET loader retrieves encrypted configuration data from a smart contract on BNB Smart Chain and Avalanche via the ERC20 name() call. The decrypted configuration includes C2 hosts such as https://more-arpc.icu and https://rpcsecnoweb.pro, enabling operators to rotate infrastructure through on-chain updates. The chain also includes extensive anti-analysis logic with 26 sandbox and environment checks, geofencing of 11 CIS countries including Russia, and decoy network-noise generation; the presence of C:\Nintendo reportedly bypasses these checks.

Persistence is established by copying the BAT polyglot to Windows-like cache paths as CacheManager.bat, setting Hidden/System attributes, timestomping files, creating CacheManager.lnk in the Startup folder, and using RegisterApplicationRestart. Injection uses Hell’s Gate-style direct syscalls, specifically NtCreateSection and NtMapViewOfSection, to execute shellcode without standard user-mode API calls. The shellcode decrypts the final payload with a SipHash-variant block cipher in CTR mode and decompresses it with aPLib.

The final HellsUchecker backdoor communicates over HTTPS POST to https://rec.allthe.site/chk using a JSON-RPC-like format and the User-Agent string "myApp v1.0." It fingerprints the host, can execute files retrieved from C2, and reports execution results back to the operator. Mentioned infrastructure and artifacts include h01-captcha.sbs, finger.cldvrfd.click, on.cldvrfd.click, vrf.cldvrfd.click, manager.msi (SHA256: 6373eec0482f5b98f127967135937fca60e5a497befb51cb1267fa402063095d), and the smart contract address 0x328A1faDff154290F0Ce1389a4E633698CDfdAa7. The campaign was reported active as of March 11, 2026.

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MITRE ATT&CK

Techniques & procedures

24 distinct techniques documented for this family, organized by ATT&CK tactic.

Initial Access

2 techniques
T1566PhishingEvidence1

These are malicious web pages that contain instructions for installing AI agents like Claude and OpenClaw but secretly deploy malware on the user's devices.

T1566.002Spearphishing LinkEvidence1

“The chain starts at h01-captcha.sbs, a page that impersonates a Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA.”

Execution

5 techniques
T1059.001PowerShellEvidence1

ClickFix lure – a fake Cloudflare CAPTCHA – and ends with a memory-resident PE...

T1059.003Windows Command ShellEvidence1

“On Windows: %COMSPEC% /c start "" /min for /f … finger … do call %A & exit”

T1059.005Visual BasicEvidence1

“The MSI CustomAction runs explorer.exe "wscript_29ab.vbs"”

T1059.006PythonEvidence1

“execute a base64-encoded Python loader… pythonw.exe -c exec(urllib fetch)”

T1106Native APIEvidence1

“resolves imports via PEB walk and a custom Merkle-Damgard hash function… 63 API hashes are resolved at runtime. No API names appear in the shellcode.”

Persistence

2 techniques
T1547Boot or Logon Autostart ExecutionEvidence1

“RegisterApplicationRestart handles crash recovery… called on every run regardless of install state.”

T1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup FolderEvidence1

“A shortcut called CacheManager.lnk in the Startup folder points to the WebCache copy”

Privilege Escalation

3 techniques
T1055Process InjectionEvidence1

“It calls NtCreateSection and NtMapViewOfSection… map a read-write view for writing and a read-execute view for running the shellcode… RtlCreateUserThread targeting RX view.”

T1547Boot or Logon Autostart ExecutionEvidence1

“RegisterApplicationRestart handles crash recovery… called on every run regardless of install state.”

T1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup FolderEvidence1

“A shortcut called CacheManager.lnk in the Startup folder points to the WebCache copy”

Stealth

11 techniques
T1027Obfuscated Files or InformationEvidence1

“caret escaping… base91-encoded payload… delta-encoded chunks… string encryption… XOR decrypt… SipHash-variant… aPLib compression”

T1036MasqueradingEvidence1

“download a legitimate Python 3.14 embed package from python.org (saved with a .pdf extension to avoid download filtering)”

T1055Process InjectionEvidence1

“It calls NtCreateSection and NtMapViewOfSection… map a read-write view for writing and a read-execute view for running the shellcode… RtlCreateUserThread targeting RX view.”

T1070Indicator RemovalEvidence1

“Zeroes the process command line via Marshal.WriteInt16(GetCommandLineW(), 0, 0)… PEB command line is wiped after injection”

T1070.006TimestompEvidence1

“File timestamps on all copies are set to 43 months in the past.”

T1218System Binary Proxy ExecutionEvidence1

“The clipboard payload runs finger.exe… The malware uses it as a download channel… over the finger protocol on port 79.”

T1218.007MsiexecEvidence1

“writes manager.msi… and runs msiexec /i manager.msi… The MSI CustomAction runs explorer.exe "wscript_29ab.vbs"”

T1218.009Regsvcs/RegasmEvidence1

“BAT polyglot… searches for MSBuild.exe… passes itself to MSBuild… MSBuild’s inline C# task decodes… compiles the result in memory… Assembly.Load()”

T1497Virtualization/Sandbox EvasionEvidence1

“26 anti-analysis checks… RAM below 6 GB… process blacklist… queries 5 geolocation APIs… If 3 or more checks trigger, the process terminates.”

T1564.001Hidden Files and DirectoriesEvidence1

“The copies are renamed CacheManager.bat… with Hidden and System attributes.”

T1620Reflective Code LoadingEvidence1

“Calls Assembly.Load() on the 6,576,640-byte result… Invokes … RateObject()” | “manually loads the PE… The PE never exists as a file. It is decrypted, decompressed, and loaded entirely within process memory.”

Discovery

1 technique
T1497Virtualization/Sandbox EvasionEvidence1

“26 anti-analysis checks… RAM below 6 GB… process blacklist… queries 5 geolocation APIs… If 3 or more checks trigger, the process terminates.”

Command and Control

4 techniques
T1001Data ObfuscationEvidence1

“6 concurrent threads that generate decoy network traffic… 70% fake blockchain RPC… 30% requests to legitimate APIs… buries the real C2 communication”

T1071Application Layer ProtocolEvidence1

“checks in… using HTTPS POST with a JSON-RPC format: {"id":,"arguments":[]}”

T1071.001Web ProtocolsEvidence1

“memory-resident PE that checks in to its C2 server over HTTPS… HTTPS POST to https://rec.allthe.site/chk”

T1105Ingress Tool TransferEvidence1

“The command queries a username at finger.cldvrfd.click, and the server responds with a crafted .plan file containing 12 batch commands.” | “fetch a file from C2 via WinHTTP GET, write it to a temp file, execute it… report the exit code, and delete the file.”

INDICATORS OF COMPROMISE

IOCs tracked for this family

33 indicators attributed across vendor reports, sandbox runs, and researcher write-ups. Full values are available in Mallory.

View more in app
Network
20 tracked

IPs, domains, and DNS infrastructure linked to this family.

Hashes
9 tracked

File hashes (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256) from samples and reports.

Other
4 tracked

Other indicator types observed in public reporting.

TypeValueLatest sighting
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IOC matching33

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Threat actor attribution

Named campaigns wielding this family, with evidence pinned to each claim.

Exploited vulnerabilities

CVEs this family uses for access and lateral movement.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

MITRE ATT&CK mapping24

Every documented technique, ranked by evidence weight.

Researcher chatter

Reddit, Mastodon, and CTI community discussion around this family.