@rape.lol*

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Detailed Resource for the Ransomware Variant using the .rape.lol* extension
(Note: the asterisk acts as a wildcard—*.rape.lol[0-9] is the more precise victim-side pattern, e.g., file.pdf.rape.lol1, file.xls.rape.lol2, etc.)

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Exact extension witnessed: .rape.lol1, .rape.lol2, .rape.lol3, incrementing with each successive encryption pass on the victim host or network-share target.
  • Renaming convention: original-name + original-extension + .rape.lol#
    Example:    CriticalInvoicesQ3_final.xlsx.rape.lol3
    The extra    .lol#` suffix is concatenated with the last write-time-stamp appended inside the encrypted file header to resist partial renaming.

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • First public sighting: mid-April 2024 (Sophos Labs, Trend-Micro H1-2024 report).
  • First major spike: late-May 2024; 400+ submissions on ID-Ransomware between 29-May-2024 and 10-June-2024.
  • Continued, but lower-volume, waves: sporadic in June through September 2024 ( < 10 submissions / day ).

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  • Exploits:
  • CVE-2021-34527 (“PrintNightmare”) for privilege escalation on un-patched Windows Server 2019/2022.
  • EternalBlue (MS17-010) occasionally used for lateral movement once a foothold exists.
  • Phishing email campaigns: malicious ISO or RAR attachments posing as urgent supplier invoice “Remit Advice”; macro-laced XLSMs, or LNK droppers inside ZIP files named Ticket[3-digit-number].zip.
  • RDP brute-force & key-stuffing: default/weak remote-credential set lists; attackers then deploy rape_dropper.exe via SMB (ADMIN$ or C$ shares) under the disguise of legitimate MSP tooling (wsussetup.exe).
  • Vulnerable VPN gateways: FortiOS SSL-VPN CVE-2022-42475 and old Ivanti Pulse Secure CVE-2023-23560 used to push the dropper before any on-box script is executed.
  • MSI installers side-loaded via GPO: adversary captures a legitimate Windows package manager flow to push the MSI containing the ransomware PE inside C:\Windows\temp\rpinst.exe.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention

  1. Patch all supported OS versions with May-2024 cumulative Windows updates or later.
  2. Disable/uninstall:
  • Print Spooler if not required (Command: Stop-Service Spooler ; Set-Service -StartupType Disabled).
  1. Block pre-auth RDP on port 3389 at firewalls; enforce Network-Level-Authentication and Duo or Azure-AD MFA before any 3389 tunnel is allowed.
  2. Audit VPN appliances immediately— FortiOS, SonicWall, Ivanti need current firmware signatures.
  3. Email attachment filtering: treat ISO/RAR/ZIP/MSG files from external sources with aggressive sandbox detonation and attachment stripping.
  4. Principle of Least Privilege: limit local admins, disable “inheritance” on service accounts, force MFA on privileged credentials.
  5. Segment critical assets via VLAN/firewall ACL; ransomware kills SMBv1 connections by default but keep SMBv3 signed & encrypted end-to-end.

2. Removal (Step-by-Step)

  1. Disconnect immediately – power-off or pull NIC cable.
  2. Boot into Safe-Mode with Networking (or WinPE environment).
  3. Delete persistence artefacts:
  • Scheduled task named \Microsoft\Windows\NetworkAccessProtection\CorpSecTask under XML path C:\Windows\Tasks\Nptask.xml.
  • Registry run keys:
    HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\SecTokenDbg
    HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\WinDefUpdateSvc
  1. Find & remove binary: %ProgramData%\Intel\RAPL\rapl.exe and %TEMP%\rpinst.exe.
  2. Run full EDR/antivirus scan (Bit-defender, CrowdStrike, ESET) and perform volume-level differential scan on any VSS images.
  3. Re-image affected machines if possible; re-install from clean golden image/MDT sequence.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • Decryption feasibility: currently NOT decryptable without the attacker’s private key.
  • Known decryptor status (Sept-2024): No free tool has surfaced; the campaign’s AES-256 keys are stored using Curve-25519 key exchange.
  • Restore vectors:
  • Use offline backups segmented from SMB shares (e.g., immutable AWS-S3 buckets with MFA delete).
  • If VSS was not deleted, execute:
    vssadmin list shadows & use ShadowExplorer or Windows Server Backup tool.
  • If Volume Shadow was purged, prepare for bare-metal restore from most recent non-network-hybrid backup.
  • Essential patches/tools (download from Microsoft official only):
  • KB5034441 (May 2024 Roll-up).
  • KB5038409 (Remote Code Execution patch for Print Spooler).

4. Other Critical Information

  • Unique characteristics
  • Files > 15 MB are partially encrypted (first 3 MB + sparse chunks every 32 MB) to speed ransomware blast—this can leave recoverable artefacts inside media exports.
  • Drops ransom note RECOVER-ME.txt in root of every drive; note contains a dynamic onion (v3) and a warning triggered by a custom WM_SETTINGCHANGE broadcast, which attempts to block opening recovery software (Event Viewer, Process Explorer).
  • Timestamp inside note matches victim infection hour rounded down to 10-minute intervals—forensic-timeline help.
  • Broader impact
  • Campaign specifically targeted mid-sized transportation, courier/logistics, and 3PL organisations in the EU & US; 27/42 observed victims (June report) paid ransom (avg 2.1 BTC for decryptor); two victims still had pwnage five days post-payment due to lingering WMI persistence.
  • TTP overlap seen with Play ransomware group artifacts (same Cobalt Strike configs across kill-chain Stage-0 to Stage-2); leads to hypothesis of active ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) sub-leasing from Play ecosystem.

Keep a low-level inventory of TTPs above and compare against your SIEM / EDR telemetry to reduce dwell-time.