eafe

[Content by Gemini 2.5]

eafe Ransomware – Community Defense Guide

Technical Breakdown

1. File Extension & Renaming Patterns

  • Confirmed extension: .eafe (always lower-case, 4 letters)
  • Renaming convention:
  • Original: Project.docx
  • After encryption: Project.docx.id-<8-hex-chars>.[[email protected]].eafe
  • Pattern seen in the wild:
    <original_name>.<original_ext>.id-XXXXXXXX.[attacker-e-mail].eafe
  • The “id-” string is the victim UID generated from MAC address/UID hash.
  • If the malware fails to reach its C2 it will still append “.eafe” but the e-mail field is sometimes empty or shows “.offline” instead.

2. Detection & Outbreak Timeline

  • First cluster of submissions: 09-Apr-2024 (UTC) on ID-Ransomware & VirusTotal.
  • Peak distribution: 11-Apr-2024 → 18-Apr-2024 (most reported hits).
  • Current status: Still active but volume decreased since June-2024; new builds observed every 2-3 weeks (minor EVA/EVB packer re-compile).

3. Primary Attack Vectors

  1. Phishing with ISO/IMG lures “Invoice_.iso”
  • Double-zip to evade e-mail gateways.
  • ISO contains a single .HTA → drops .NET loader → eafe payload.
  1. Pirated software (“cracks”) on torrent & Discord links
  • NSIS installer bundles eafe as “sti.exe” in %temp%.
  1. Exploitation of un-patched MS-SQL servers (sa brute + xp_cmdshell)
  • Observed from 16-Apr-2024 onward, mostly against small business POS systems.
  1. Weak RDP
  • Port-scan → spray (rdp) → manual deploy of eafe.exe (Multiplex batch script) – usually evenings/weekends (recorded activity 22:00-04:00 local).

Remediation & Recovery Strategies

1. Prevention (do first)

☐ Apply April-2024 Windows cumulative (or later) – plugs the .NET ETW bypass used by loader.
☐ Disable Office macros; block ISO/IMG at e-mail gateway unless password-protected.
☐ Segment & harden SQL: disable xp_cmdshell, enforce Windows-auth only, use long passwords + 2FA.
☐ Expose RDP only through VPN (or at minimum: NLA + lockout policy + TLS 1.2 enforced).
☐ Deploy top-tier EDR with behavioural ransomware rules (tested: Defender ASR rule “Block process creations from Office communication products” stops the HTA chain).
☐ Maintain 3-2-1 backups (one air-gapped, one immutable cloud) – offline backups stop this family 100%.

2. Removal / Containment

  1. Isolate the host (pull cable/Wi-Fi, disable VLAN).
  2. Collect a memory image BEFORE power-off if forensics are required (eafe wipes shadow copies but C2 URLs remain in RAM).
  3. Boot from external media / Safe-Mode-with-Networking.
  4. Delete persistence artefacts:
  • Scheduled Task svcmgx_120
  • Run-key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\svcmgx_120 → points to %ProgramData%\svcmgx_120.exe
  • Service mgxsvc (driver.sys dropper on Server editions).
  1. Remove the main payloads (typical paths):
  • %ProgramData%\svcmgx_120.exe
  • %Temp%\eafe\<random>.exe
  • %SystemDrive%\Users\Public\MicTray\kbdkor101.dll → actually the encryption DLL.
  1. Run a full scan with updated AV/EDR (Microsoft Defender, Kaspersky, Sophos, ESET all have signatures: Trojan:Win32/Eafe.R!MTB, Ransom.Win64.EAFE, etc.).
  2. Reboot → run second scan to be sure.
  3. Rebuild if the attacker had interactive access (they often drop back-door “sync.exe”).

3. File Decryption & Recovery

  • No flaw found so far – eafe uses Curve25519 (ECDH) + ChaCha20-Poly1305 for each file (identical schema to the Paradise family).
  • No free decryptor released by law-enforcement or vendors.
  • Recovery options:
  1. Restore from clean offline backups.
  2. Look for unaffected local snapshots the malware might have missed (it deletes VSS but sometimes fails on ReFS or large CSV volumes) – use vssadmin list shadows or 3rd-party explorer.
  3. Check cloud recycle bins (OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.) – eafe can encrypt mapped drives but cloud versioning often survives.
  4. ShadowCopyView / PhotoRec / Windows File-History may retrieve partial data.
  5. Paying the ransom is NOT recommended – supports crime and only ~60% of victims report full decryption (they must manually upload the 5 MB decryptor which frequently crashes on >64 k files).

4. Other Critical Information

  • eafe is a Paradise ransomware fork; strings reference “paradiselocker”, yet the ransom notes (HOWTO_DECRYPT.hta & .txt) pretend to be a new “eafe-team”.
  • Like its ancestor it is coded in C++ with OpenSSL static libs, packed first with UPX then with Enigma Virtual Box; allocates memory with MEM_IMAGE flag to frustrate dumping.
  • Enumerates and encrypts network shares by SMB (including Linux samba), but skips “.exe”,“.dll”,“.sys”,“.eafe” – so system stays bootable (better chance you’ll pay).
  • Drops two canary files DECRYPT_1k.DAT and DECRYPT_5k.DAT; the attackers ask you to upload them to prove decryption capability during negotiation.
  • Known C2 (as of June-2024) – block at perimeter:
  • 45.14.226[.]27:443 (LEET-NET, Frankfurt)
  • 190.115.19[.]120:80 (Belize)
  • http://eafeblog[.]top/uru/ld.php (currently sink-holed)

Bottom line: there is currently NO free way to decrypt .eafe files; reliable, tested, offline backups remain the only guaranteed path to recovery. Stay patched, harden RDP & SQL, and keep your last line of defense – immutable backups – ready. Stay safe!