Gaofenquming

Overview

Executive Summary

Infection Vector and Technical Behavior

• Browser Hijacking: It forcibly alters the default homepage, new tab page, and default search engine across all major web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer). The new settings redirect all queries to a customized search portal controlled by the adware operators.
• Registry Persistence: The adware establishes persistence by modifying the Windows Registry (e.g., `HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main`) to ensure its preferred homepage is reinstated even if the user attempts to manually change it back.
• Ad Injection: Gaofenquming injects JavaScript into active browsing sessions, displaying persistent pop-up ads, banners, and sponsored search results that are often highly deceptive or malicious in nature.

Privacy and Security Risks

Remediation Guidelines

• Extension Audit: Manually inspect and remove any unknown or unauthorized extensions from all installed web browsers.
• Complete Browser Reset: Perform a factory reset of the affected web browsers to clear the hijacked search engine configurations and homepage settings.
• Malware Scanning: Utilize a reputable EPP/anti-malware solution to perform a deep system scan to remove the underlying executable files, hidden scheduled tasks, and persistent registry keys associated with Gaofenquming.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Adware.Gaofenquming
• Hijacker.Gaofenquming
• PUP.Gaofenquming

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:

• T1566.002: Inspect email links for known malicious domains and use link-rewriting services for time-of-click analysis.

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

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

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_GAOFENQUMING_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Gaofenquming"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "gaofenquming" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "adware.gaofenquming" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "hijacker.gaofenquming" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "pup.gaofenquming" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Gaofenquming (Advanced Threat) Execution & Triage
id: c22ee614-3cec-598a-9217-edc1a7366acc
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Gaofenquming malware family. Detects proxy execution, reflective DLL loading,
  and remote command injection associated with modular enterprise backdoors.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/gaofenquming
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/backdoor-rat-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.advanced-threat
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1566_002
- attack.t1176
- attack.t1112
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \powershell.exe
    - \cmd.exe
    - \rundll32.exe
    - \regsvr32.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - DownloadString
    - IEX(
    - '/s /n /u /i:'
    - sc create
    - start-process
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: high

rule MALWARE_WIN_GAOFENQUMING_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Gaofenquming 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 = "gaofenquming" 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. Enforce forensic network isolation on all suspected endpoints while maintaining an out-of-band telemetry conduit to capture live Gaofenquming adversary activity.
2. Perform full memory dumps across identified staging nodes to extract memory-only implants, kernel rootkit hooks, and decrypted Gaofenquming C2 infrastructure IP/domain lists.
3. Review Active Directory domain controller authentication logs for anomalous Kerberos ticket requests (Pass-the-Ticket, Golden Ticket) and unauthorized DCSync operations associated with Gaofenquming.
4. Block all confirmed C2 domains, dynamic DNS endpoints, and proxy IP addresses across perimeter firewalls, proxies, and DNS security gateways.
5. Conduct an enterprise-wide sweep across surrounding subnets for secondary webshells, WMI event subscriptions, or remote execution tooling left behind by Gaofenquming operators.

What to Avoid

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

1. Do not assume the incident is resolved simply because an antivirus tool removed the initial Gaofenquming dropper; always verify that secondary payloads and persistence hooks have been eradicated.
2. Avoid logging in with Domain Admin or privileged credentials on a machine suspected of running Gaofenquming until memory triage is complete.
3. Do not delay host isolation; automated lateral movement and credential dumping can occur within minutes of initial execution.

References & External Analysis

• Search "gaofenquming" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "gaofenquming" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "gaofenquming" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Advanced Threat)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Fakesysdef
• Wpepro
• Wootbot
• Spyrecon
• Vigram
• Plicker
• Testfile
• Vonteera

Machine-readable

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