This rule detects the presence of the TINYPROGv38 payload, a known component of the TINYPROG malware family, which adversaries deploy to establish persistence or execute malicious logic within Azure environments. Proactively hunting for this signature allows the SOC team to identify low-severity, stealthy implantations that may serve as initial footholds for lateral movement or data exfiltration before they escalate to higher-impact activities.
rule PKTINYv10withTINYPROGv38
{
meta:
author="malware-lu"
strings:
$a0 = { 2E C6 06 [3] 2E C6 06 [3] 2E C6 06 [3] E9 [2] E8 [2] 83 }
condition:
$a0 at pe.entry_point
}
This YARA rule can be deployed in the following contexts:
This rule contains 1 string patterns in its detection logic.
Legitimate Micro-VM or Sandbox Orchestration: In environments utilizing lightweight virtualization for CI/CD pipelines or application testing (e.g., QEMU with specific KVM modules, or Firecracker micro-VMs), the hypervisor process may load compact kernel modules or user-space libraries that match the “TINYPROG” signature due to their minimal footprint and specific memory layout.
qemu-system-x86_64, firecracker, or dockerd (when running in containerized VM mode), and verify the binary path is under /usr/lib/qemu/ or /opt/firecracker/.Embedded Firmware Update Agents on IoT/Edge Devices: In hybrid cloud-edge architectures, management agents (e.g., Azure IoT Edge runtime components or AWS Greengrass core devices) often run stripped-down, statically linked binaries to minimize resource usage on ARM-based edge nodes. These compact executables can trigger YARA rules designed to catch tiny, obfuscated payloads.
/usr/bin/iotedge or /opt/awsgreengrass/ where the binary size is < 5MB and the file hash matches the known-good inventory for the specific device fleet.High-Frequency Trading (HFT) Low-Latency Daemons: Financial trading firms often deploy custom, highly optimized C/C++ daemons (e.g., Aeron library wrappers or proprietary LMAX Disruptor-based services) that are compiled with aggressive optimization flags (-Os) and stripped of debug symbols. These result in very small, dense binaries that may resemble the “TINYPROG” profile.