Challenge 4

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The fourth challenge file is a pdf file named APT9001.pdf. Lets analyze this pdf using peepdf.

python2 peepdf.py -f APT9001.pdf

File: APT9001.pdf
MD5: f2bf6b87b5ab15a1889bddbe0be0903f
SHA1: 58c93841ee644a5d2f5062bb755c6b9477ec6c0b
SHA256: 15f3d918c4781749e3c9f470740485fa01d58fd0b003e2f0be171d80ce3b1c2c
Size: 21284 bytes
Version: 1.5
Binary: True
Linearized: False
Encrypted: False
Updates: 0
Objects: 7
Streams: 2
URIs: 0
Comments: 0
Errors: 0

Version 0:
	Catalog: 1
	Info: No
	Objects (7): [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
		Errors (1): [7]
	Streams (2): [6, 7]
		Encoded (1): [6]
	Objects with JS code (1): [6]
	Suspicious elements:
		/OpenAction (1): [1]
		/JS (1): [5]
		/JavaScript (1): [5]

From the output, it can be seen that it contains the JavaScript code.

Lets now extract this JavaScript code using peepdf.

echo "extract js" > extract.txt

python2 peepdf.py -f -s extract.txt APT9001.pdf

var HdPN = "";
var zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf = "";
var IxTUQnOvHg = unescape("%u72f9%u4649%u1525%u7f0d%u3d3c%ue084%ud62a%ue139%ua84a%u76b9%u9824%u7378%u7d71%u757f%u2076%u96d4%uba91%u1970%ub8f9%ue232%u467b%u9ba8%ufe01%uc7c6%ue3c1%u7e24%u437c%ue180%ub115%ub3b2%u4f66%u27b6%u9f3c%u7a4e%u412d%ubbbf%u7705%uf528%u9293%u9990%ua998%u0a47%u14eb%u3d49%u484b%u372f%ub98d%u3478%u0bb4%ud5d2%ue031%u3572%ud610%u6740%u2bbe%u4afd%u041c%u3f97%ufc3a%u7479%u421d%ub7b5%u0c2c%u130d%u25f8%u76b0%u4e79%u7bb1%u0c66%u2dbb%u911c%ua92f%ub82c%u8db0%u0d7e%u3b96%u49d4%ud56b%u03b7%ue1f7%u467d%u77b9%u3d42%u111d%u67e0%u4b92%ueb85%u2471%u9b48%uf902%u4f15%u04ba%ue300%u8727%u9fd6%u4770%u187a%u73e2%ufd1b%u2574%u437c%u4190%u97b6%u1499%u783c%u8337%ub3f8%u7235%u693f%u98f5%u7fbe%u4a75%ub493%ub5a8%u21bf%ufcd0%u3440%u057b%ub2b2%u7c71%u814e%u22e1%u04eb%u884a%u2ce2%u492d%u8d42%u75b3%uf523%u727f%ufc0b%u0197%ud3f7%u90f9%u41be%ua81c%u7d25%ub135%u7978%uf80a%ufd32%u769b%u921d%ubbb4%u77b8%u707e%u4073%u0c7a%ud689%u2491%u1446%u9fba%uc087%u0dd4%u4bb0%ub62f%ue381%u0574%u3fb9%u1b67%u93d5%u8396%u66e0%u47b5%u98b7%u153c%ua934%u3748%u3d27%u4f75%u8cbf%u43e2%ub899%u3873%u7deb%u257a%uf985%ubb8d%u7f91%u9667%ub292%u4879%u4a3c%ud433%u97a9%u377e%ub347%u933d%u0524%u9f3f%ue139%u3571%u23b4%ua8d6%u8814%uf8d1%u4272%u76ba%ufd08%ube41%ub54b%u150d%u4377%u1174%u78e3%ue020%u041c%u40bf%ud510%ub727%u70b1%uf52b%u222f%u4efc%u989b%u901d%ub62c%u4f7c%u342d%u0c66%ub099%u7b49%u787a%u7f7e%u7d73%ub946%ub091%u928d%u90bf%u21b7%ue0f6%u134b%u29f5%u67eb%u2577%ue186%u2a05%u66d6%ua8b9%u1535%u4296%u3498%ub199%ub4ba%ub52c%uf812%u4f93%u7b76%u3079%ubefd%u3f71%u4e40%u7cb3%u2775%ue209%u4324%u0c70%u182d%u02e3%u4af9%ubb47%u41b6%u729f%u9748%ud480%ud528%u749b%u1c3c%ufc84%u497d%u7eb8%ud26b%u1de0%u0d76%u3174%u14eb%u3770%u71a9%u723d%ub246%u2f78%u047f%ub6a9%u1c7b%u3a73%u3ce1%u19be%u34f9%ud500%u037a%ue2f8%ub024%ufd4e%u3d79%u7596%u9b15%u7c49%ub42f%u9f4f%u4799%uc13b%ue3d0%u4014%u903f%u41bf%u4397%ub88d%ub548%u0d77%u4ab2%u2d93%u9267%ub198%ufc1a%ud4b9%ub32c%ubaf5%u690c%u91d6%u04a8%u1dbb%u4666%u2505%u35b7%u3742%u4b27%ufc90%ud233%u30b2%uff64%u5a32%u528b%u8b0c%u1452%u728b%u3328%ub1c9%u3318%u33ff%uacc0%u613c%u027c%u202c%ucfc1%u030d%ue2f8%u81f0%u5bff%u4abc%u8b6a%u105a%u128b%uda75%u538b%u033c%uffd3%u3472%u528b%u0378%u8bd3%u2072%uf303%uc933%uad41%uc303%u3881%u6547%u5074%uf475%u7881%u7204%u636f%u7541%u81eb%u0878%u6464%u6572%ue275%u8b49%u2472%uf303%u8b66%u4e0c%u728b%u031c%u8bf3%u8e14%ud303%u3352%u57ff%u6168%u7972%u6841%u694c%u7262%u4c68%u616f%u5464%uff53%u68d2%u3233%u0101%u8966%u247c%u6802%u7375%u7265%uff54%u68d0%u786f%u0141%udf8b%u5c88%u0324%u6168%u6567%u6842%u654d%u7373%u5054%u54ff%u2c24%u6857%u2144%u2121%u4f68%u4e57%u8b45%ue8dc%u0000%u0000%u148b%u8124%u0b72%ua316%u32fb%u7968%ubece%u8132%u1772%u45ae%u48cf%uc168%ue12b%u812b%u2372%u3610%ud29f%u7168%ufa44%u81ff%u2f72%ua9f7%u0ca9%u8468%ucfe9%u8160%u3b72%u93be%u43a9%ud268%u98a3%u8137%u4772%u8a82%u3b62%uef68%u11a4%u814b%u5372%u47d6%uccc0%ube68%ua469%u81ff%u5f72%ucaa3%u3154%ud468%u65ab%u8b52%u57cc%u5153%u8b57%u89f1%u83f7%u1ec7%ufe39%u0b7d%u3681%u4542%u4645%uc683%ueb04%ufff1%u68d0%u7365%u0173%udf8b%u5c88%u0324%u5068%u6f72%u6863%u7845%u7469%uff54%u2474%uff40%u2454%u5740%ud0ff");
var MPBPtdcBjTlpvyTYkSwgkrWhXL = "";

for (EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA = 128; EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA >= 0; --EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA) MPBPtdcBjTlpvyTYkSwgkrWhXL += unescape("%ub32f%u3791");
ETXTtdYdVfCzWGSukgeMeucEqeXxPvOfTRBiv = MPBPtdcBjTlpvyTYkSwgkrWhXL + IxTUQnOvHg;
OqUWUVrfmYPMBTgnzLKaVHqyDzLRLWulhYMclwxdHrPlyslHTY = unescape("%ub32f%u3791");
fJWhwERSDZtaZXlhcREfhZjCCVqFAPS = 20;
fyVSaXfMFSHNnkWOnWtUtAgDLISbrBOKEdKhLhAvwtdijnaHA = fJWhwERSDZtaZXlhcREfhZjCCVqFAPS + ETXTtdYdVfCzWGSukgeMeucEqeXxPvOfTRBiv.length
while (OqUWUVrfmYPMBTgnzLKaVHqyDzLRLWulhYMclwxdHrPlyslHTY.length < fyVSaXfMFSHNnkWOnWtUtAgDLISbrBOKEdKhLhAvwtdijnaHA) OqUWUVrfmYPMBTgnzLKaVHqyDzLRLWulhYMclwxdHrPlyslHTY += OqUWUVrfmYPMBTgnzLKaVHqyDzLRLWulhYMclwxdHrPlyslHTY;
UohsTktonqUXUXspNrfyqyqDQlcDfbmbywFjyLJiesb = OqUWUVrfmYPMBTgnzLKaVHqyDzLRLWulhYMclwxdHrPlyslHTY.substring(0, fyVSaXfMFSHNnkWOnWtUtAgDLISbrBOKEdKhLhAvwtdijnaHA);
MOysyGgYplwyZzNdETHwkru = OqUWUVrfmYPMBTgnzLKaVHqyDzLRLWulhYMclwxdHrPlyslHTY.substring(0, OqUWUVrfmYPMBTgnzLKaVHqyDzLRLWulhYMclwxdHrPlyslHTY.length - fyVSaXfMFSHNnkWOnWtUtAgDLISbrBOKEdKhLhAvwtdijnaHA);
while (MOysyGgYplwyZzNdETHwkru.length + fyVSaXfMFSHNnkWOnWtUtAgDLISbrBOKEdKhLhAvwtdijnaHA < 0x40000) MOysyGgYplwyZzNdETHwkru = MOysyGgYplwyZzNdETHwkru + MOysyGgYplwyZzNdETHwkru + UohsTktonqUXUXspNrfyqyqDQlcDfbmbywFjyLJiesb;
DPwxazRhwbQGu = new Array();
for (EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA = 0; EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA < 100; EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA++) DPwxazRhwbQGu[EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA] = MOysyGgYplwyZzNdETHwkru + ETXTtdYdVfCzWGSukgeMeucEqeXxPvOfTRBiv;

for (EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA = 142; EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA >= 0; --EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA) zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf += unescape("%ub550%u0166");
bGtvKT = zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf.length + 20
while (zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf.length < bGtvKT) zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf += zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf;
Juphd = zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf.substring(0, bGtvKT);
QCZabMzxQiD = zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf.substring(0, zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf.length - bGtvKT);
while (QCZabMzxQiD.length + bGtvKT < 0x40000) QCZabMzxQiD = QCZabMzxQiD + QCZabMzxQiD + Juphd;
FovEDIUWBLVcXkOWFAFtYRnPySjMblpAiQIpweE = new Array();
for (EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA = 0; EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA < 125; EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA++) FovEDIUWBLVcXkOWFAFtYRnPySjMblpAiQIpweE[EvMRYMExyjbCXxMkAjebxXmNeLXvloPzEWhKA] = QCZabMzxQiD + zNfykyBKUZpJbYxaihofpbKLkIDcRxYZWhcohxhunRGf;

In the above extracted JavaScript, the unescaped content looks particularly interesting. This must be the shellcode that will be injected. So it was decoded using this recipe in the Cyberchef.

The above decoded content now looks like a shellcode with some barely visible Windows API like LoadLibraryA. The shellcode was then saved to a file named shellcode.bin.

The shellcode was converted into executable using shcode2exe as:

python3 shcode2exe.py ../shellcode.bin -o shellcode.exe

The shellcode.exe executable was loaded into x32dbg. Here, comments were added to improve understanding of its behavior. The shellcode calls LoadLibraryA at offset 0x004132F to load user32.dll. Then it calls GetProcAddress at offset 0x00401348 to obtain the address of MessageBoxA and execute it at offset 0x004013DD.

The parameter passed to MessageBoxA are:

• hWnd -> edi
• lpText -> ecx
• lpCaption -> ebx (OWNED!!!)
• uType -> edi

Here, the lpText parameter should contain the flag, which value is pushed as ecx. The ecx retrieves its value from esp. Several instructions above include a series of push operations, which appear to construct a string on the stack, as shown below. Each push instruction is preceded by an xor operation that will manipulate values at memory at offset relative to edx.

The memory dump of edx can be seen below.

The memory dump displays the same opcode instructions starting from offset 0x0040135E. The xor operation modifies a dword value in memory at offsets relative to edx. Each of these modified values corresponds to the value pushed onto the stack by the subsequent push instruction.

For example, consider the instruction xor dword ptr ds:[edx+B], 32FBA316. The memory at [edx+B] initially contains the value 79CEBE32 as can be seen in dump. Below this instruction is push 32BECE79. Note its opcode is 68 79CEBE32.

• Here, 68 is push instruction and the 79CEBE32 is 32BECE79 in little-endian representation. The same opcodes can be seen in the memory dump of edx.

So, when the xor operation executes, it computes the XOR of 32BECE79 (little endian of 79CEBE32) and 32FBA316, resulting in 00456D6F. This result then overwrites the opcode of the subsequent push 32BECE79 instruction, effectively changing it to push 456D6F.

This process occurs for every xor and push instruction pair in the sequence, so that each push instruction is dynamically modified in memory based on the xor operation to generate the flag as shown in the comment if figure below. On swapping the endianness, it reveals the flag.

Flag: [email protected]

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