New variant of Cerber Ransomware Spotted in the Wild .

August 25, 2016

The Dell Sonicwall Threats Research team observed reports of a new variant family of Cerber [GAV: Cerber.B_1] actively spreading in the wild.

Cerber encrypts the victims files with a strong encryption algorithm until the victim pays a fee to get them back.

Infection Cycle:

The Malware uses the following icon:

The Malware adds the following files to the system:

  • Encrypted.exe

    • %Userprofile%Application Data{3FF660B5-E586-7A17-366C-2ED2759DA927}lpq.exe

The Trojan adds the following keys to the Windows registry to ensure persistence upon reboot:

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer

    • %Userprofile%Application Data{3FF660B5-E586-7A17-366C-2ED2759DA927}lpq.exe

Once the computer is compromised, the malware copies its own executable file to %Userprofile% Application Data folder and deletes its own executable file.

The Malware encrypts all personal documents and files it shows the following webpages:

It demands that victims pay using Bitcoin in order to receive the decryption key that allows them to recover their files. The malware has some guidelines for how to purchase Bitcoins:

Command and Control (C&C) Traffic

The Malware performs C&C communication over TCP and UDP ports. The malware sends your system UID to its own C&C server via following format, here are some examples:

We have been monitoring varying hits over the past few days for the signature that blocks this threat:

SonicWALL Gateway AntiVirus provides protection against this threat via the following signature:

  • GAV: Cerber.B_1 (Trojan)