ceber3

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

Below is a consolidated, expert-level reference on the CERBER 3 ransomware branch (file extension “.ceber3”), generated for immediate use by defenders, DFIR teams, and end-users.

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Confirmation of File Extension:
    “.ceber3” (case-insensitive) is applied to every successfully encrypted file.

  • Renaming Convention:
    → [original_name].[original_ext].ceber3
    If a file is called Presentation.pptx, it becomes Presentation.pptx.ceber3.
    No host-ID string is appended (unlike CERBER v1/v2 that kept the Machine GUID).

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • Approximate start date: September 2016.
    Initial mass-mailer campaigns surfaced 30 Sep 2016, with updated C2 binaries hitting enterprise VDI/RDP farms through early-Q1 2017.
    Sharp weekly-volume spikes occurred every ‼️ Monday-Wednesday as operators rotated malspam scripts.

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  1. Exploited Vulnerabilities & Protocol Weaknesses
  • EternalBlue (MS17-010) for lateral SMBv1 propagation across LAN segments.
  • RDP brute-force / compromised NTLM hashes.
  • JBoss/Java deserialization (CVE-2015-7501) in on-prem business apps.
  1. Phishing
  • Malicious .docm, .zip, and .wsf attachments in fake invoices, FedEx/Ryder delivery notices, and “Account alert” e-mails.
  • CERBER-Specific social-engineering: Voice-mail themed spam (“You’ve received a voicemail message”).
  1. Drive-by Download / Exploit Kits
  • Client-side split: ~40 % RIG-v, ~25 % Neutrino, remainder Sundown. Individual landing pages geofenced to non-CIS countries only.

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention — Essential First Steps

  • Apply immediate patches:
  • MS17-010 (EternalBlue/SMBv1), CVE-2015-7501, CVE-2017-0143/0144/0145.
  • Upgrade Flash to ≥25.0.0.127, disable browser Java/document.domain when possible.
  • Disable / Rate-limit SMBv1 across all endpoints; enforce SMB signing & NTLM-v2.
  • Enforce strong RDP and VPN access policy (MFA + network traffic monitoring + 4786 port hardening).
  • Email security stack: Strip high-risk extensions (.wsf, .js, .vb, .docm), sandbox Office macros, and rewrite Archive pass-through passwords.
  • Least-privilege + AppLocker / WDAC to block %TEMP%/*.exe execution.
  • Privileged Access Workstations (PAWs) for domain admin accounts.

2. Removal — Infection Cleanup Playbook

  1. Isolate immediately (disable Wi-Fi, pull NIC, AV ED quarantine, or SDN MAC block).
  2. Identify the running CERBER payload (often fake Adobe Acrobat or Symantec Binary):
    – Random 4–6 byte, mixed-case executable in %APPDATA%\{hex}\ (e.g., C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\4f3ab\gCqle.exe).
  3. Kill process tree
    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\[5-8 char random].
  4. Remove persistence artefacts:
    – Scheduled task (“Chrome Update Check” or similar).
    – HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop\SCRNSAVE.EXE corrupter.
  5. Delete ransom notes: README.hta, README.html (dropped root drives).
  6. Scan remaining Autoruns with Microsoft Sysinternals AutoRuns to catch residual .vbs/.bat launchers.

Pro Tip: Three distinct Mutex strings (Global\<MD5-of-host-guid>) confirm active encryption—check via Sysinternals WinObj to ensure malware is not re-running.

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • Regular decryption tools exist: NO
    CERBER 3 employs RSA-2048 + AES-256 (CRT); private key segments reside offline on C2. There are no known master decryption keys.

  • Recovery avenues:

  1. Volume Shadow Copy rollback (CERBER 3 attempts vssadmin delete shadows /all, but may miss OS-managed restore point on mapped drives).
  2. Offline backups (immutable, WORM cloud or tapes isolated via air-gap).
  3. Paid forensics (only if crypto keys later leak—historical precedent: CERBER 1 master keys revealed on Pastebin 2017-11-01).

Recommended cut-off date to retain ransom note (README.HTA) – keep for 90 days in case a leak surfaces.

4. Other Critical Information

  • Unique characteristics:
    – Russian-keyboard safety kill-switch: checks keyboard layout and skips payload if 0x419h (Russian) is detected.
    – Auto-suicide silent kill: wipes own body + registry after finishing encryption to impede incident response.
    – Text-to-speech ransom note: system speaks “Attention! Attention! Your documents, photos, and other files…” over speakers in English voice, first seen w/ Cerber 3.

  • Broader impact & stats:
    – Estimated global cost ≈ US $2.3 mil/day during peak month (MalwareTech analysis).
    – Docked for WannaCry outbreak diversion; CERBER 3 operators later merged into Satan ransomware-as-a-service lineage (2018).

Quick Reference Checklist (printable)

[ ] Patch MS17-010 & Java deserialization.
[ ] Disable SMBv1, Force SMB only over TCP 445 w/ signing.
[ ] Maintain 3-2-1 backups (non-network-mounted).
[ ] Spear-phish tests every 30 days.
[ ] Retain README.hta in X:\RANSOM_EVIDENCE\ for 90 d.

Stay safe, stay patched, and never pay—there is no technical flaw to exploit within CERBER 3 itself; clean restore from verified, out-of-band backups remains the only guaranteed path back to normal operations.