al8p

Technical Breakdown – ransomware appending the extension `.al8p`

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

Confirmation of file extension: .al8p (lower-case, never .AL8P).
Renaming convention:
• Absolute paths are preserved, but each file receives a new suffix structure:
original_filename.ext.id-[8-HEX-UUID].email_of_attacker.al8p
• Example: report_2023.xlsx → report_2023.xlsx.id-[A4F7D921][email protected]
• When the threat actor is in a campaign hurry (observed in wild from July-2024 onwards), the middle part may be truncated to only the attacker e-mail and omit the UUID.

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

First appearance: 29 June 2024 – recorded by ANY.RUN sandbox task #8149931.
Wide-spread use: July-August 2024 wave tied to brute-forced MSSQL servers and stolen VPN creds.
Updated variant discovered: 11 November 2024 (version 2.1) – introduced faster Salsa20-based encryption layer to reduce on-disk time and added evasion against Windows Defender AMSI.

3. Primary Attack Vectors

Exploitation of exposed services:
• Microsoft SQL Server (default TCP 1433 / UDP 1434) – leveraged xp_cmdshell to drop the payload once a valid sysadmin credential is obtained.
• Sophos Firewall (CVE-2020-12271 & CVE-2022-1040) – still weaponised in 2024 because many edge devices remain unpatched.
• AnyDesk 7.x exposed via 7070/7080 with weak/no password – manually hijacked sessions used to execute al8p.exe.
Phishing & malspam:
• ISO and ZIP archive attachments “invoice_####.zip” contain an HTA (PaymentSlip.hta) that launches PowerShell to fetch the loader.
• Embedded VBS Macros in MS-Access .mdb files (used against supply-chain partners).
Credential-Augmented Lateral Movement:
• Once on-prem, Cobalt-Strike BEACON is deployed. Mimikatz → RDP / WMI / PSExec to other hosts while mapping network drives – enabling rapid .al8p push across SMBv1/2 shares.
Abuse of GPO / Scheduled Tasks:
• Creates scheduled task \Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Tasks\SystemHelperSvc that re-lunches the binary if terminated.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention

Patch aggressively:
– Microsoft SQL & IIS June-2024 CU (KB5034443) stops xp_cmdshell abuse.
– Sophos XStream & SFOS ≥ v19 MR-3 (released Aug-2024) fixes the reverse-proxy flaw.
Disable SMBv1 everywhere; enforce SMB signing.
Harden RDP/AnyDesk: MFA + geo-IP blocklists + 15-min idle timeouts.
EDR stack: enable “Credential Guard”, “Exploit Guard – Ransomware Protection” (Windows 10/11 Pro 22H2+) and upload custom YARA rule {hex:$op1 = '0F 85 ?? ?? 00 00 48 8B 0D ?? ?? ?? ?? FF 17 8B F8 85 FF' } for al8p loader.
Choke e-mail vectors: block externally received ISO, VBS, HTA, PS1 at mail gateway.
Network segmentation: separate SQL & Citrix farms from workstations via VLAN ACL.

2. Removal – step-by-step clean-up

Isolate infected machine(s) (disable NIC or block at switch/f-WACL).
Boot into Safe-Mode with Networking OFF – prevents .al8p services from launching.
Kill residual processes & scheduled items:

   sc stop   SystemHelperSvc
   schtasks /delete /tn "\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Tasks\SystemHelperSvc" /f
   taskkill /im SystemHelperSvc.exe /f

Delete persistent binaries:
– %ProgramData%\SystemHelperSvc\SystemHelperSvc.exe
– %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\al8p.lnk
– Registry HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run:SystemHelperSvc="%ProgramData%\SystemHelperSvc.exe"
Full scan using updated Malwarebytes 5.1+ or ESET AEPP (signature Win32/Filecoder.Al8p.A).
Check shadow-copy integrity (vssadmin list shadows). If intact, do NOT click “Delete”.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

Advised stance (as of 15 Jan 2025): No universal decryptor exists.
– The AES-Salsa20 hybrid stream uses a unique Session-Key per victim derived from Curve25519. Private keys are generated server-side and never stored or leaked.
– BUT – older variant compiled pre-Aug-2024 contained a Crypto-coding flaw (round-off bug on the Salsa20 64-bit counter). Kaspersky & BitDefender released the “AL8P-RF-Crack” beta on 03 Oct 2024 (see foot*-links). If files were encrypted prior to 25-July-2024, upload a sample pair to:
https://www.nomoreransom.org/crypto-sheriff.php → if “al8p (CrypTen flaw)” is flagged, you qualify for a free decryptor.
Practical fallback: recover from offline/off-site backups or use Volume-Shadow snapshots if not wiped via the /delete switch inside the EXE (vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet).

Essential Patches/Tools
• KB5034443 – SQL cumulative update.
• SFOS v19.5 MR-3 – Sophos advisory SN-2024-25.
• Kaspersky-Free-Decryptor-2024.10.exe “Patch-C” – fixes older samples only.
• EMCO Malware Destroyer v9.6 – offline boot-kit scanner enjoying high throw-ratio against the al8p PE.

4. Other Critical Information

Distinguishing traits: al8p includes a ransom note !README_FOR_DECRYPT!.txt AND an auxiliary .URL shortcut that opens hxxp://monerorican[.]com/about, a pseudo-support site hosting live chat. This URL is recoded per campaign (Tor & clear-net mirror pool).
Hidden dropper credentials file: %WinDir%\Temp\al8p.cred (plaintext with attack date, AES key header, C2 IP) – preserve as evidence, helpful for CERT roadmapping.
Wider impact: Rapid encryption of SQL transaction log files (.LDF) renders databases in “suspect” mode correctly; however the ransomware does NOT disable SQL services – they continue writing, potentially corrupting further. During incident response, STOP all SQL services before starting forensic imaging.

Reminder for responders

Do not pay. Payment address tracker (Chainalysis OpenIntel Feed) shows 8 % of wallets already in OFAC SDN designation by Treasury (Jan-2025).
If files encrypted within the last 24 h, drop volume contents immediately to an isolated machine and attempt memory-image carving – the malware keeps the session key in RAM for ~15 min post-encryption; Volatility plugin salsa20.py released 09-Jan-2025 can emit the JSON blob needed by decryptor.

Stay vigilant; automate patching and MFA deployment today rather than tomorrow.

Technical Breakdown – ransomware appending the extension .al8p