1. Home
  2. Software
  3. BendyBear

BendyBear

BendyBear is an x64 shellcode for a stage-zero implant designed to download malware from a C2 server. First discovered in August 2020, BendyBear shares a variety of features with Waterbear, malware previously attributed to the Chinese cyber espionage group BlackTech.[1]

ID: S0574
ⓘ
Type: MALWARE
ⓘ
Platforms: Windows
Version: 1.1
Created: 16 February 2021
Last Modified: 11 April 2024
Enterprise Layer
download view

Techniques Used

Domain ID Name Use
Enterprise T1001 .001 Data Obfuscation: Junk Data

BendyBear has used byte randomization to obscure its behavior.[1]
Enterprise T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information

BendyBear has decrypted function blocks using a XOR key during runtime to evade detection.[1]
Enterprise T1573 .001 Encrypted Channel: Symmetric Cryptography

BendyBear communicates to a C2 server over port 443 using modified RC4 and XOR-encrypted chunks.[1]

Enterprise T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

BendyBear is designed to download an implant from a C2 server.[1]
Enterprise T1106 Native API

BendyBear can load and execute modules and Windows Application Programming (API) calls using standard shellcode API hashing.[1]
Enterprise T1571 Non-Standard Port

BendyBear has used a custom RC4 and XOR encrypted protocol over port 443 for C2.[1]
Enterprise T1027 .013 Obfuscated Files or Information: Encrypted/Encoded File

BendyBear has encrypted payloads using RC4 and XOR.[1]
Enterprise T1012 Query Registry

BendyBear can query the host's Registry key at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Console\QuickEdit to retrieve data.[1]
Enterprise T1124 System Time Discovery

BendyBear has the ability to determine local time on a compromised host.[1]

Enterprise T1497 .003 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion: Time Based Evasion

BendyBear can check for analysis environments and signs of debugging using the Windows API kernel32!GetTickCountKernel32 call.[1]

References

  1. Harbison, M. (2021, February 9). BendyBear: Novel Chinese Shellcode Linked With Cyber Espionage Group BlackTech. Retrieved February 16, 2021.