#threatreport #HighCompleteness
SERPENTINE#CLOUD returns: ClickFix lure drops five RATs | 04-04-2026
Source:
derp.ca/research/serpentine-…
Key details below ↓
🧑💻Actors/Campaigns:
Serpentine_cloud
💀Threats:
Clickfix_technique, Purelogs, Brc4_tool, Venomrat, Asyncrat, Xworm_rat, Purehvnc_tool, Dcrat, Dll_injection_technique, Sparkle_tool, Donut, Apc_injection_technique, Confuserex_tool, Donut_loader, Process_hacker_tool, Hvnc_tool, Ngrok_tool, Violet_rat, Purecryptor, Remcos_rat,
🌐Geo: Netherlands, Hungary, Budapest
📚TTPs:
⚔️Tactics: 2
🛠️Technics: 1
🤖LLM extracted TTPs:`
T1027, T1036, T1036.007, T1036.008, T1041, T1047, T1055, T1055.004, T1059.003, T1059.005, ...
🧨IOCs:
- File: 12
- Domain: 17
- Hash: 12
- Registry: 1
- Path: 2
- IP: 5
💽Software: trycloudflare, curl, Windows Defender
🔢Algorithms: pbkdf2, sha256, aes, aes-256-cbc, deflate, fnv-1a, base64, rc4, aes-cbc, zip, xor, cbc
🔠Functions: eval
🗂️Win API: VirtualAllocEx, WriteProcessMemory, QueueUserAPC, ResumeThread, IsProcessorFeaturePresent, SetUnhandledExceptionFilter, LineDDA, EnumSystemGeoID, SetTimer, InitializeProcThreadAttributeList, ...
📜Programming Languages: python, jscript, autoit
💻Platforms: x64, intel
#threatreport:
The recent cyber threat activity associated with SERPENTINE#CLOUD has been identified once again, with the attack completing successfully five weeks post-remediation. This resurgence employs ClickFix social engineering tactics, utilizing ephemeral Cloudflare tunnels to deliver multiple Remote Access Trojans (RATs) targeting the same organization. Notably, the attack was caught at an early stage by Huntress, preventing the payload from executing.
Five families of malware are involved: VenomRAT, AsyncRAT, XWorm/Violet (now upgraded to version 5), PureHVNC, and a new entrant, Brute Ratel C4 (BRc4). The obfuscated payloads employ Early Bird asynchronous procedure call (APC) queue injection techniques with a unique process parent ID spoofing tactic, allowing the payload to inject into benign system processes such as notepad.exe. This approach prevents detection by circumventing standard process monitoring tools.
The C2 infrastructure has streamlined to four endpoints that resolve to DuckDNS domains, housed in two IPs located within the same AT&T residential subnet in Chicago. Historical analysis indicates that the operator has pivoted their infrastructure from three countries to this single subnet while maintaining operational continuity through consistent tool reuse and obfuscation techniques. The malware architecture notably employs a Python-based loader pipeline with Kramer obfuscator adaptability, along with direct syscalls and processes mitigated to block third-party DLL injections.
The kill chain begins with a WSH lure that triggers a download of successive batch files and payloads, all executed within embedded Python environments which enable the cloaking of malicious activity. Notably, PureHVNC has evolved, utilizing AES and XOR for payload encryption alongside TLS 1.0 for secure C2 communications.
Furthermore, specific characteristics of the RATs reveal their capabilities: VenomRAT v3.6 employs advanced memory patches for bypassing detection, AsyncRAT maintains lighter functionality without process killing or AMSI evasion, and XWorm/Violet v5 has minimized in size while expanding its operational scope to include credential theft and reverse shells.