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DownPro is a Go-based Linux loader used by the Chinese-speaking Gambling Goblin cybercrime cluster following compromise of internet-facing web servers. It decrypts protected payload locations, retrieves additional components of the operator toolkit, and launches them on the compromised host. Reported follow-on payloads include the ChUser backdoor, PasswordHarvester credential stealer, AlphaAgent backdoor, oRAT remote-access trojan, and SSH credential-testing utilities. DownPro uses Linux-like naming to disguise deployed payloads. Gambling Goblin has used this post-compromise toolkit against Brazilian government, educational, commercial, healthcare, and media web infrastructure in a gambling-focused SEO-fraud and phishing operation. The cluster has been assessed as connected to Earth Berberoka with medium-to-high confidence. The initial-access mechanism for DownPro deployment has not been confirmed.
2 distinct threat actors Mallory has associated with this family across public reporting. Open in Mallory to see the full evidence chain and overlapping campaigns.
“Its toolkit includes DownPro, AlphaAgent, oRAT RAT, 3snake credential stealer, SSH brute-forcer, and reconnaissance tools.”
“Once inside, the group can use DownPro to fetch further payloads, including the ChUser backdoor, a password-harvesting tool, AlphaAgent, oRAT, and an SSH credential-testing utility.”
7 distinct techniques documented for this family, organized by ATT&CK tactic.
DownPro downloads ChUser to /usr/bin/chuser, changes ownership to root, and turns it into a setuid helper.
“Most were wrapped in packing and virtualization layers to slow analysis.”
DownPro uses names such as systemd-udevd and rsync-tsl; oRAT installs as xtables-addons and impersonates sshd: root@pts/0.
The installer deletes source and build artifacts, then timestomps the malicious .so and load-configuration files to match legitimate Apache modules.
Once inside, the group can use DownPro to fetch further payloads... and an SSH credential-testing utility.
“After gaining access, the attackers can deploy additional tools through DownPro, a loader capable of retrieving payloads such as the ChUser backdoor, AlphaAgent and oRAT.”
AlphaAgent encrypts configurations and job/result messages with AES-GCM beneath TLS; PasswordHarvester exfiltrates credentials RC4-encrypted and Base64-encoded.
89 indicators attributed across vendor reports, sandbox runs, and researcher write-ups. Values are masked here and available in full in Mallory.
7 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.