{"id":450777,"date":"2021-03-04T09:03:08","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T14:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=450777"},"modified":"2021-03-04T09:03:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T14:03:08","slug":"covert-code-trying-to-run-in-memory-is-blocked-by-new-sophos-protection-against-heap-heap-permission-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/covert-code-trying-to-run-in-memory-is-blocked-by-new-sophos-protection-against-heap-heap-permission-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"Covert Code Trying To Run in Memory is Blocked by New Sophos Protection Against \u201cHeap-Heap\u201d Permission Violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\u201cDynamic Shellcode Protection\u201d is Designed to Expose Fileless Malware, Ransomware and Remote Access Agents
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OXFORD, U.K., March 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sophos<\/a>, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, today revealed a new defense against adversaries trying to evade detection by loading fileless malware, ransomware and remote access agents into the temporary memory of compromised computers. In a new blog post, \u201cCovert Code Faces a Heap of Trouble in Memory<\/a>,\u201d Sophos researchers detail how they discovered that covert attack code is injected directly into the dynamic \u201cHeap\u201d region of computer memory and then tries to obtain additional \u201cHeap\u201d memory with code execution rights, a behavior not seen in ordinary software. The researchers developed a new protection that is triggered whenever such \u201cHeap-Heap\u201d memory allocation behavior is detected.<\/p>\n

The defense, called Dynamic Shellcode Protection, will make it significantly harder for adversaries to use memory as part of their arsenal of defense evasion techniques.<\/p>\n

As Sophos recently reported in a series<\/a> of articles<\/a> on the realities of Conti ransomware, the memory of compromised computers is a popular hiding place for adversaries looking to conceal their presence from defenders while they load and execute the remote access agents that will serve as enablers for the rest of the attack. In the case of Conti, the remote access agent used was Cobalt Strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreventing attackers from taking hold in a compromised network is the goal of defenders everywhere,\u201d said Mark Loman, director of engineering, Sophos. \u201cThis goal is critical because once a remote access agent has been installed, it can facilitate most of the active adversary tactics that take place during an attack. These include attack execution, credential access, privilege escalation, discovery, lateral movement, collection, exfiltration, and the release of the ransomware.<\/p>\n

\u201cCode intended for malicious use evades detection by being heavily obfuscated and packed and loaded directly into memory. Computer memory is not routinely scanned by security tools so that even when the code is de-obfuscated and unpacked in order to run, its presence is often not detected. Sophos has identified a characteristic \u2013 \u2018Heap-Heap\u2019 memory allocation \u2013 that is typical across multi-stage remote access agents and other attack code being loaded into memory and has built protection against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dynamic Shellcode Protection is based on the fact that code such as applications are stored in memory regions that have \u201cexecution\u201d rights. This enables the apps to run. However, the apps generally need some additional, temporary, in-memory workspace, for example to unpack or store data. This variable workspace is commonly called \u201cHeap\u201d memory. Apps can request their Heap memory allocation to come with execution rights.<\/p>\n

In most cyberattacks, however, the loader for a remote access agent is injected directly into Heap memory. It then needs to obtain further executable memory from the Heap in order to accommodate the needs of the inbound remote access agent. This is referred to as \u201cHeap-Heap\u201d memory allocation behavior.<\/p>\n

Sophos researchers realized that such behaviour was a clear indicator of potentially suspicious activity and designed a practical protection that blocks the allocation of execution permissions from one Heap memory to another. In doing so, the protection can intercept many cyberattacks involving remote access agents, fileless malware and ransomware, while being compatible with normal applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a process, regardless of whether it is malicious or benign, violates the Heap memory allocation barrier, the Dynamic Shellcode Protection will block it and notify defenders. Security professionals can then take a closer look at what is going on,\u201d said Loman. \u201cThe new protection is not meant as a silver bullet for all attacks, but it does mean that adversaries face a new obstacle that blocks a fundamental behavior of their stealthy code. We hope this will make attackers\u2019 jobs harder and more complicated. The Dynamic Shellcode Protection does not rely on the cloud or machine learning. As such it represents a paradigm shift in the ongoing battle against many obfuscated malware and memory-delivered post-exploitation agents, including Cobalt Strike Beacon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dynamic Shellcode Protection is integrated into Sophos Intercept X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n General Advice for Defending Against Ransomware<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n