InactiveWindowsCredential theft
Malware Intelligence

Masad Stealer

Masad is an infostealer that sends stolen data through a Telegram bot and replaces crypto wallet addresses on the clipboard with the attacker's address.

Activity map

Juniper

Activity mapDownloadExecutionPackagingExfiltrationUnlicensedsoftware siteFree tool, cheatEXEFake toolMasad StealerInfostealer and clipboard…Telegram botExfiltrationData collection10 targetsLog archive
Executable payloadFile
Malicious payloadMasad Stealer · Infostealer and clipboard replacer

Masad is an infostealer that sends stolen data through a Telegram bot and replaces crypto wallet addresses on the clipboard with the attacker's address.

Environment information

  • Operating system
  • Hardware
  • IP and location
  • Installed software
  • Screenshot
  • Desktop files

Credentials and application data

  • Saved passwords
  • Session cookies
  • Autofill
  • Saved cards
  • Steam
  • Telegram
  • Discord
  • NordVPN
Dark Radar infection records
8,776
Latest infection record
4 December 2020
Malware type
Infostealer and clipboard replacer
First seen
2019
01

Overview

Ranks 34 of 52 families in Dark Radar data, with 8,776 infection records.

Other names: Masad Clipper

02

Origin and evolution

  1. 2019Data exfiltration via Telegram was documented.Juniper
03

Technical profile

Malware typeInfostealer and clipboard replacer
Target operating systemWindows
Primary purposeCrypto asset and identity theft
Threat categoryCredential theft
Distribution modelSale and free version
First seen2019
Infected systemsWindows 10 58%, Windows 7 16.5%
Public source confidenceMedium
04

Targeted applications

10 applications5 categories
05

Data collection

Credentials

  • Browser passwords75.5%Verified
  • Session cookies89%Verified
  • Refreshing expired sessions—
  • Autofill77%Dark Radar observation
  • macOS Keychain—
  • 2FA and password managers—

Financial

  • Saved cards10.5%Dark Radar observation
  • Desktop crypto walletsReported
  • Wallet extensions—
  • Clipboard address replacementVerified

Applications

  • Email clients—
  • FTP clients—
  • VPN clients3%Dark Radar observation
  • Messaging applications24.5%Dark Radar observation
  • Gaming platforms43%Dark Radar observation

System

  • File collection6%Dark Radar observation
  • Screenshot100%Dark Radar observation
  • System inventory100%Dark Radar observation
06

File system

User profile (%USERPROFILE%)
File details are in Dark Radar IntelligenceOpen in Intelligence
07

How it works

  1. 1Discovery

    Dark Radar observation

    Infected systems: Windows 10 58%, Windows 7 16.5%, Windows 8 4.5%.

    Breaking point: Bulk system and security software queries from a short-lived process trigger an EDR alert.

  2. 2Data collection

    Dark Radar observation

    Data found in the latest 200 logs: password file 75.5%, cookies 89%, autofill 77%, cards 10.5%, wallets 1.5%.

    T1555.003Credentials from Web BrowsersT1539Steal Web Session CookieT1115Clipboard Data

    Breaking point: A process other than the browser reading browser profile files is blocked or triggers an alert.

  3. 3Exfiltration and C2

    T1567Exfiltration Over Web Service

    Breaking point: Traffic to newly registered domains, direct IP addresses and non-standard ports is blocked.

  4. 4Persistence and aftermath

    T1565.002Transmitted Data Manipulation

    Breaking point: When an infection is confirmed, all sessions and access tokens on the device are revoked.

08

Network communication

This section is in Dark Radar IntelligenceOpen in Intelligence
09

MITRE ATT&CK

Credential Access
Collection
Impact
Exfiltration
10

IOCs and detection

This section is in Dark Radar IntelligenceOpen in Intelligence
11

Risk and impact

  • Stolen session cookies are enough to take over cloud, email and SaaS sessions without a password or multi-factor authentication prompt.
  • Corporate passwords saved on personal devices also leak through infections outside the corporate network; these logs are sold to initial access brokers.
  • Log archives are reshared for years; as long as the password is not changed, the same credential can be used again and again.
  • Compromised email, messaging and social media accounts become the next link in phishing and malware distribution.
12

Defense

  • When an infection is detected, revoke not only the password but all related sessions and access tokens.
  • Turn off password saving in the browser through corporate policy; use a corporate password manager.
  • Move to phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (FIDO2/passkey); bind sessions to the device.
  • Block setup files downloaded from unlicensed software, game cheats and sponsored search results.
  • Monitor flows where the user runs a command by pasting it into the Run dialog or terminal (ClickFix) with endpoint rules.
  • Continuously monitor your corporate domains and employee email addresses in stealer logs with Dark Radar.
13

Learning center

How does this malware spread?
  • Infostealer families mostly spread through unlicensed software, fake updates, sponsored search ads and phishing emails.
How can its presence on a system be detected?
  • Sign-ins to accounts from an unrecognized country or device.
  • A new infostealer log in Dark Radar for your corporate domain or an employee email address.
Which Windows artifacts should be examined?
  • Prefetch (C:\Windows\Prefetch) — shows that a short-lived payload ran.
  • Amcache.hve and ShimCache — path and hash of the executed file.
  • Downloads folder and Zone.Identifier stream — the address the file was downloaded from.
  • Browser history — the fake download page or fake CAPTCHA address.
  • RunMRU registry key — commands pasted into the Run dialog.
  • Randomly named folders and DLLs under %TEMP% and %LOCALAPPDATA%.
Which log records matter?
  • Sysmon Event 1 / Security 4688Process creation: unsigned processes starting from Temp and Downloads folders, mshta, powershell -enc chains.
  • Sysmon Olay 11 / 23File creation and deletion: self-deleting payloads, DLLs dropped under Temp.
  • Sysmon Olay 3 / 22Network connection and DNS query: to newly registered domains, C2 resolution via Telegram, Steam or Pastebin.
  • Object access auditing (4663)A process other than the browser reading Login Data, Cookies and Local State files.
  • PowerShell 4104Script block logging: obfuscated downloader commands.
  • Identity provider sign-in logsSessions after the infection from a different country and device, without a multi-factor authentication prompt.
Which MITRE techniques is it associated with?
T1555.003Credentials from Web BrowsersT1539Steal Web Session CookieT1115Clipboard DataT1565.002Transmitted Data ManipulationT1567Exfiltration Over Web Service
How should a SOC analyst respond?
  1. Isolate the device from the network; do not reinstall it before taking memory and disk images.
  2. Determine the infection date; list all accounts that were signed in on the device after that date.
  3. Change the passwords of these accounts, revoke their sessions and access tokens, and re-enroll multi-factor authentication devices.
  4. Search identity provider and SaaS logs for new country, device and token usage after the infection.
  5. If a recovery phrase or wallet file was exposed, move the assets to a new wallet.
  6. Find the initial access path (email, ad, unlicensed software, fake CAPTCHA) and check other users who used the same path.
  7. Reinstall the device from a clean image.
14

Sources

Related terms

Wallet theftData exfiltration
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