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YARA · Signature Base (Florian Roth / Nextron)

SIGNATURE_BASE_SUSP_ENV_Folder_Root_File_Jan23_1

Detects suspicious file path pointing to the root of a folder easily accessible via environment variables

Suspicious / huntingSignature Base (Florian Roth / Nextron)Detection Rule License 1.1Compiles with YARA-X (with warnings)
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-01-11
Modified
2023-12-05
Score / Quality
70 / 83

What this rule detects

Detects suspicious file path pointing to the root of a folder easily accessible via environment variables

Targets: Windows PE.

It defines 5 patterns (2 text, 0 hex, 3 regex). YARA modules used: pe.

YARA-X says: warning[deprecated_field]: field `number_of_signatures` is deprecated

Summary generated from the rule's metadata and condition.

Rule source

Includes the imports needed to compile it on its own.

susp-env-folder-root-file-jan23-1.yarDetection Rule License 1.1
import "pe"

rule SIGNATURE_BASE_SUSP_ENV_Folder_Root_File_Jan23_1 : SCRIPT FILE
{
	meta:
		description = "Detects suspicious file path pointing to the root of a folder easily accessible via environment variables"
		author = "Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)"
		id = "6067d822-5c1b-5b86-863c-fdcfa37da665"
		date = "2023-01-11"
		modified = "2023-12-05"
		reference = "Internal Research"
		source_url = "https://github.com/Neo23x0/signature-base/blob/94a1c48d7ab499879287ff611dfe7f9c56376030/yara/gen_susp_indicators.yar#L3-L22"
		license_url = "https://github.com/Neo23x0/signature-base/blob/94a1c48d7ab499879287ff611dfe7f9c56376030/LICENSE"
		logic_hash = "5355ae567e6255e22f566bae9fe50f4995bafba07c261461d37d5b8ba200d33a"
		score = 70
		quality = 83
		tags = "SCRIPT, FILE"

	strings:
		$xr1 = /%([Aa]pp[Dd]ata|APPDATA)%\\[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{1,20}\.[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,4}[^\\]/ wide ascii
		$xr2 = /%([Pp]ublic|PUBLIC)%\\[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{1,20}\.[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,4}[^\\]/ wide ascii
		$xr4 = /%([Pp]rogram[Dd]ata|PROGRAMDATA)%\\[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{1,20}\.[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,4}[^\\]/ wide ascii
		$fp1 = "perl -MCPAN " ascii
		$fp2 = "CCleaner" ascii

	condition:
		filesize < 20MB and 1 of ( $x* ) and not 1 of ( $fp* ) and not pe.number_of_signatures > 0
}

Strings (5 patterns)

IdentifierTypeValueModifiers
$xr1regex/%([Aa]pp[Dd]ata|APPDATA)%\\[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{1,20}\.[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,4}[^\\]/wide ascii
$xr2regex/%([Pp]ublic|PUBLIC)%\\[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{1,20}\.[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,4}[^\\]/wide ascii
$xr4regex/%([Pp]rogram[Dd]ata|PROGRAMDATA)%\\[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{1,20}\.[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,4}[^\\]/wide ascii
$fp1text"perl -MCPAN "ascii
$fp2text"CCleaner"ascii

Condition

filesize < 20MB and 1 of ( $x* ) and not 1 of ( $fp* ) and not pe.number_of_signatures > 0

In plain words (Heuristic)

  • The file must be smaller than 20MB (a cheap guard that skips large files).
  • At least 1 patterns in ( $x* ) must match.
  • At least 1 patterns in ( $fp* ) must match.
  • Uses the pe module.
  • Checks the Authenticode signature.

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Licence & attribution

Author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)

Source repository: Signature Base (Florian Roth / Nextron) @ 94a1c48d7a

Licence: Detection Rule License 1.1 (repository licence)

Original rule

Mirrored via YARA Forge 20260927, which prefixes rule names with the source and adds normalised meta fields.

Rule id: 6067d822-5c1b-5b86-863c-fdcfa37da665

Tags:SCRIPTFILE