Ensiko is a PHP WebShell that can affect Windows, macOS and Linux systems. Trend Micro analyst Aliakbar Zahravi explains how the newly-discovered malware can remotely control the system and infect the machine.

Security researchers at Trend Micro reported a new malware with a host of capabilities including remote server control and encryption. Dubbed Ensiko, the malware is a WebShell security threat, capable of performing malicious activities at the behest of its operator.

Aliakbar Zahravi, Malware Analyst at Trend Micro wrote in a blog that Ensiko is written in PHP and can victimize any internet-facing server or system running on an environment that supports PHP. This makes Windows, macOS as well as Linux susceptible to Ensiko attacks. As is the case with typical WebShell, Ensiko can execute code and scripts to gain remote server administration and control.

Malicious Capabilities

Ensiko’s malicious capabilities can also be misused to disrupt services like website defacing, exfiltrate and disclose sensitive server data. It can also be used to carry out brute-force attacks against file transfer protocol (FTP), cPanel, and Telnet.

A threat actor can potentially load additional tools for malicious activity from the Pastebin, which it stores in tools_ensikology. Furthermore, an image file’s EXIF data headers are leveraged for hiding and later extracting code using the Steganologer function. Zahravi illustrates this with the image below.

Password Protected Malware ??

One of the unconventional characteristics of Ensiko is that it can be password protected for authentication. It also incorporates a hidden input form for login as shown below.

This article was originally published here

(Please check sources and detailed blog on the same)