{"id":26712,"date":"2013-06-26T11:33:03","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T18:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mcafee.com\/?p=26712"},"modified":"2025-06-05T19:17:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T02:17:25","slug":"styx-exploit-kit-takes-advantage-of-vulnerabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/other-blogs\/mcafee-labs\/styx-exploit-kit-takes-advantage-of-vulnerabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Styx Exploit Kit Takes Advantage of Vulnerabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Web-based malware has increased over the last few years due to an abrupt spike in new exploit kits. These kits target vulnerabilities in popular applications and provide an effective way for cybercriminals to distribute malware. We have already discussed <a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/mcafee-labs\/red-kit-an-emerging-exploit-pack\">Red Kit,<\/a> a common exploit kit. Recently McAfee Labs has observed an increase in the prevalence of the Styx exploit kit.<\/p>\n<p>The next graph shows the prevalence of this exploit kit in the wild.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Styx.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26714 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Styx.jpg\" alt=\"Styx\" width=\"497\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Styx.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Styx-300x141.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/styx-New2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26715 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/styx-New2.jpg\" alt=\"styx - New\" width=\"517\" height=\"518\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>Overview of an attack<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\"><!-- [if gte mso 9]&gt;--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\"><!-- [if gte mso 9]&gt;--><\/p>\n<p>Like other exploit kits, Styx covertly redirects users as they visit a legitimate website to a malicious landing page that hosts the exploit files targeting various vulnerabilities. The redirector link may arrive via email as part of a spam campaign.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Redirector.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26719\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Redirector.jpg\" alt=\"Redirector\" width=\"674\" height=\"40\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Redirector.jpg 674w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Redirector-300x17.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Redirector<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Once users reach the landing page the malware searches for vulnerable applications installed in the system. This occurs via browser plug-in detection code (Plugin Detect Version 0.8.0).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/plugin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26724\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/plugin.jpg\" alt=\"plugin\" width=\"424\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/plugin.jpg 464w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/plugin-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>Plugin Detect Version 0.8.0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\">The landing page has an iframe that contains a malicious link with obfuscated code.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iframe.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26725\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iframe.jpg\" alt=\"iframe\" width=\"487\" height=\"23\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iframe.jpg 487w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/iframe-300x14.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>Malicious iframe<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The JavaScript used on the landing page references the iframe using a unique ID, deobfuscates the malicious code, and loads the following malicious web pages hosted on the compromised server.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Jorg.html<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Jlnp.html<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Pdfx.html<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/javascript.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26726 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/javascript.jpg\" alt=\"javascript\" width=\"619\" height=\"178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/javascript.jpg 619w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/javascript-300x86.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Malicious JavaScript<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><!-- [if gte mso 9]&gt;--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!-- [if gte mso 9]&gt;--><\/p>\n<p>The page jorg.html downloads a JAR file that targets the vulnerability <a href=\"https:\/\/cve.mitre.org\/cgi-bin\/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2013-0422\">CVE-2013-0422<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Jlnp.html uses the <a href=\"http:\/\/docs.oracle.com\/javase\/tutorial\/deployment\/deploymentInDepth\/jnlp.html\">Java Network Launch Protocol<\/a>, which allows the user to download a malicious JAR file that targets the vulnerability <a href=\"https:\/\/cve.mitre.org\/cgi-bin\/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2013-2423\">CVE-2013-2423<\/a>. The attackers bypass the Java security check by setting the parameter \u201c__applet_ssv_validated\u201d value to True.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/JNLP.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26727 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/JNLP.jpg\" alt=\"JNLP\" width=\"562\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/JNLP.jpg 562w, https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/JNLP-300x102.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 562px) 100vw, 562px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>Jlnp.html<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Pdfx.html loads two web pages, fnts.html and jovf.html, which download an eot (web-based font file) and a JAR file. These files target the vulnerability \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cve.mitre.org\/cgi-bin\/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2011-3402\">CVE-2011-3402<\/a>\u201d and <a href=\"http:\/\/cve.mitre.org\/cgi-bin\/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2013-1493\">CVE-2013-1493,<\/a> respectively. Finally, pdfx.html downloads a PDF that targets the vulnerability<a href=\"http:\/\/cve.mitre.org\/cgi-bin\/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2010-0188\"> CVE-2010-0188<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Payload<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The final payload of this exploit kit is a downloader that delivers additional malware from the remote server. Depending upon the attacker, the payloads are custom made and delivered to the compromised machine.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>URL Patterns<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Styx exploit kit uses different URL patterns for its landing pages.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/[domain name]\/6YcinO0Sseq0fDBV0T3aT0lJAg0EkbA04FxQ0n5Ql06rpn\/<\/li>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/ [domain name]\/txjtJC07tCh0umHs0NZTL0OYgb0zOvl0JZ2V06bOd0xKmb\/<\/li>\n<li>http:\/\/ [domain name]\/8iVsog0IrKi09gpk0lpTv0DPpd0vjHb0UHWZ0Rq2P13ZsU\/<\/li>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/ [domain name]\/VgsHRk0dg8z0eREo0a8IG0DW9f04Ovg08zLs0VzuY0EqiG\/<\/li>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/ [domain name]\/YONmPa0VeqA14XYe13zsL081Lc09i7W0e4gM\/<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This exploit kit also uses unique URL patterns for downloading the exploit files.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/[domain name]\/[Random characters and numbers]\/jorg.html<\/li>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/[domain name]\/[Random characters and numbers]\/jlnp.html<\/li>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/[domain name]\/[Random characters and numbers]\/pdfx.html<\/li>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/[domain name]\/[Random characters and numbers]\/fnts.html<\/li>\n<li>hxxp:\/\/[domain name]\/[Random characters and numbers]\/jovf.html<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How to prevent this attack<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Blocking the URL patterns we have noted is one efficient way to prevent this attack. However, the landing page URL patterns are constantly changing. Nonetheless, the payload URL patterns have remained the same for all malicious domains we have seen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In spite of the availability of patches for known vulnerabilities such as CVE2013-0422, CVE-2010-0188, etc., this exploit kit still targets these vulnerabilities. McAfee recommends that you install the latest patches for Java and Adobe Reader.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>We advise our customers to pay extra caution when opening unsolicited emails and unknown links.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>McAfee products detect these exploits as JS\/Exploit-Stykit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Special thanks to our colleague Bharath M. Narayan for his assistance with this blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Web-based malware has increased over the last few years due to an abrupt spike in new exploit kits. These kits&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":674,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[338,180],"coauthors":[3973],"class_list":["post-26712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mcafee-labs","tag-endpoint-protection","tag-malware"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Styx Exploit Kit Takes Advantage of Vulnerabilities | McAfee Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Web-based malware has increased over the last few years due to an abrupt spike in new exploit kits. 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