Erazer

Overview

Erazer (identified across antivirus engines as Trojan:Win32/Erazer and Backdoor.Erazer) is a classic dual-function Remote Access Trojan (RAT) and disruptive disk wiper originally surfaced in the mid-2000s cybercrime landscape. Built upon modular Delphi architecture, Erazer was engineered to provide remote operators with complete administrative dominion over compromised Windows endpoints. Beyond standard RAT capabilities such as keystroke logging, active window spying, process enumeration, and reverse command shells, Erazer features deliberate destructive subroutines designed to wipe user files, overwrite master boot record (MBR) structures, and zero-fill critical documents upon receiving a specific kill command from the command-and-control server. Attackers distributed Erazer through peer-to-peer file sharing networks like KaZaA and eMule masked as software cracks and game cheat trainers. Once launched, Erazer establishes registry persistence, terminates local security processes, and disables system management utilities like Task Manager and Regedit.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Trojan:Win32/Erazer
• Backdoor.Erazer
• Win32.Erazer.RAT
• Trojan.KillFiles.Erazer

Family Pedigree & Lineage

Malware authors regularly fork and iterate upon existing codebases. Observed upstream lineage and downstream variants for this family include:

Derived From / Upstream Ancestry: Delphi Backdoor Architectures

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Erazer Lite · Win32/Erazer.V2

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to our technical analysis hubs and the official MITRE ATT&CK framework:

Tactical Mitigations

Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:

• T1056: Monitor for unauthorized keylogging, screen capturing, or web browser API hooking. Deploy EDR to detect API hooking.
• T1059: Restrict execution of scripting languages such as PowerShell, VBScript, or Python to authorized administrators. Enforce Script Block Logging.
• T1071: Monitor network traffic for anomalous application layer protocols like non-standard HTTP/S patterns or unexpected DNS requests.

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

Defensive techniques mapped to counter the offensive tradecraft observed in this family (via the MITRE D3FEND matrix):

Exploited Vulnerabilities (CVEs)

This malware family is documented weaponizing the following common vulnerabilities and exposures:

• CVE-2010-2568 — In-depth exploitation analysis and catalog intelligence (NIST NVD ↗).
• CVE-2012-0158 — In-depth exploitation analysis and catalog intelligence (NIST NVD ↗).

Indicators of Compromise

Public indicators drawn from CISA advisories and vendor reporting. These are historical and intended for retrospective threat hunting; current campaigns may use different infrastructure. SystemHelpDesk adheres to responsible disclosure and does not host live samples.

File hashes (SHA-256, sample)

Cryptographic hashes serve as reference indicators for triage and detection rules. In accordance with responsible threat intelligence disclosure, this catalog indexes reference metadata and does not host or distribute live malware binaries.

• 9f83a4561b369c02e1b12b50937a892b1a5e1e1a5f4c219468e4a9e5b721869a
• 2c5a987ef423bc5e109d784a32b98e1f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d

Delivery vectors

• Peer-to-peer file sharing networks (eMule, KaZaA) disguised as key generators and media players
• Compromised software freeware download portals and bundled installers

Persistence mechanisms

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ErazerServer
• Creation of hidden auto-start Windows service keys under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

Tiered Detection Rules (Cisco CAIRN Model)

Modern threat detection requires multi-layered rule engineering. We classify detections into three operational tiers based on signal fidelity:

rule MALWARE_WIN_ERAZER_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Erazer"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "erazer" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "trojan:win32/erazer" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "backdoor.erazer" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "win32.erazer.rat" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "trojan.killfiles.erazer" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Erazer (Trojan) Execution & Triage
id: 7f59c175-f7c5-5fc4-bd67-c88d06072cbf
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Erazer malware family. Detects suspicious execution from temporary user
  directories with hidden window flags and background transfer utilities.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/erazer
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/downloader-dropper-protection
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/
author: Ricky Jordan, Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst, SystemHelpDesk MSP
date: '2026-10-14'
modified: '2026-10-14'
tags:
- attack.trojan
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1056
- attack.t1059
- attack.t1106
- attack.t1112
- attack.t1071
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \cmd.exe
    - \powershell.exe
    - \cscript.exe
    - \wscript.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - AppData\Local\Temp
    - -WindowStyle Hidden
    - /e:jscript
    - bitsadmin /transfer
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: medium

rule MALWARE_WIN_ERAZER_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Erazer tradecraft"
        tier = "T3 - Attribution Fingerprint"
        confidence = "High (Confirmed Family Signature)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        // Core family identifier & heuristic payload signatures
        $attrib_str = "erazer" ascii wide nocase
        $pe_magic = "MZ" ascii
        $net_marker = "http" ascii nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and ($attrib_str and $net_marker) and filesize < 15MB
}

Containment & Response Steps

Ordered checklist for responders. Adapt to your environment and engage professional support for active incidents.

1. Disconnect infected endpoints from network environments to halt ongoing remote operator command execution.
2. Kill active Erazer payload processes and unhook keyboard intercept hooks via administrative tools.
3. Restore disabled administrative tooling (Task Manager, Regedit) by purging malicious registry policy keys.
4. Verify data integrity across local volumes and restore any zeroed or wiped data from immutable backups.

What to Avoid

Common mistakes during response to this family that can destroy evidence, spread the infection, or worsen recovery.

1. Do not download or execute software cracks, keygens, or pirated software from unverified file-sharing sources.
2. Avoid rebooting systems while active wiper routines are running to prevent partial master boot record corruption.

References & External Analysis

• Kaspersky Threat Intelligence Portal - Trojan.Win32.Erazer
• Sophos Security Advisory - W32/Erazer-A Trojan Breakdown
• NIST National Vulnerability Database - CVE-2010-2568
• Search "erazer" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "erazer" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "erazer" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Trojan)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Frethog
• Iezones
• Murofet
• Keylogr
• Taranis
• Spamer
• Juntador
• Dfay

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/api/erazer.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.