Mokes

Overview

Mokes (extensively analyzed by Kaspersky Lab under Backdoor:Win32/Mokes.a, Backdoor.OSX.Mokes, and Backdoor.Linux.Mokes) is a sophisticated multi-platform remote access backdoor and surveillance framework first discovered in 2016. Written in C++ utilizing the Qt cross-platform application framework, Mokes was engineered to target Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems with near-identical surveillance capabilities. Once executed on Windows, Mokes decrypts AES-256 strings in memory, establishes persistence via the CurrentVersion\Run registry key, and connects to remote C2 servers over TCP port 443 with custom encryption. Mokes implements exhaustive espionage modules including continuous keystroke logging, scheduled desktop screenshots, microphone audio capture, webcam surveillance, monitoring removable drives for Office documents, and exfiltrating harvested files packaged inside encrypted temporary archives.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Backdoor:Win32/Mokes.A
• Backdoor:Win32/Mokes
• Backdoor.OSX.Mokes
• Backdoor.Linux.Mokes
• Trojan.Mokes
• Win32/Mokes

Family Pedigree & Lineage

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

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Backdoor:Win32/Mokes.A · Backdoor.Osx.Mokes.A · Backdoor.Linux.Mokes.A

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

This family has been observed using the following ATT&CK techniques: T1056.001 · T1113 · T1123 · T1125 · T1071.001

Tactical Mitigations

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

• T1056.001: Implement Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to monitor for suspicious API calls related to keystroke interception. Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to render stolen passwords useless.
• T1071.001: Implement web filtering and SSL/TLS inspection to detect malicious command and control (C2) traffic hiding in HTTP/HTTPS.
• T1113: Monitor for frequent or unauthorized screen captures or clipboard reads. Restrict background applications from accessing desktop APIs.
• T1125: Restrict access to local camera or microphone APIs. Utilize endpoint protection that monitors hardware access.

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_MOKES_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Mokes"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "mokes" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "backdoor:win32/mokes.a" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "backdoor:win32/mokes" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "backdoor.osx.mokes" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "backdoor.linux.mokes" ascii wide nocase
        $s6 = "trojan.mokes" ascii wide nocase
        $s7 = "win32/mokes" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Mokes (Rat) Execution & Triage
id: 11c4e5c1-79fe-574a-b7a5-75e194b1c59a
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Mokes malware family. Detects unauthorized persistence creation via Windows
  Registry Run keys, scheduled tasks, and privilege escalation indicative of RAT installations.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/mokes
- 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.rat
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1056_001
- attack.t1113
- attack.t1123
- attack.t1125
- attack.t1071_001
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \reg.exe
    - \schtasks.exe
    - \cmd.exe
    - \powershell.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - \CurrentVersion\Run
    - /create /tn
    - bypass -enc
    - net user /add
    - net localgroup administrators
  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_MOKES_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Mokes 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 = "mokes" 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
}

References & External Analysis

• Kaspersky Securelist - The Missing Piece: Multi-OS Mokes Backdoor
• Microsoft Defender Threat Encyclopedia - Backdoor:Win32/Mokes.A
• Search "mokes" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "mokes" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "mokes" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Rat)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Netwire
• Lost_Door
• Ghost
• Pcclient
• Bifrost
• Apocalypse_Rat
• Darkkomet
• Netwiredrc

Machine-readable

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