{
  "family": "agobot",
  "sample_count": 7,
  "category": "backdoor",
  "description": "Agobot (classified in antivirus detection telemetry under designations including Backdoor:Win32/Agobot, Backdoor.Win32.Agobot, and Win32/Agobot) is a interactive remote access trojan and backdoor providing remote threat actors with unauthorized terminal control, file manipulation, and surveillance. Disseminated across enterprise networks and consumer workstations via social engineering, phishing attachments, malicious drive-by downloads, or weaponized software cracks, Agobot executes an initial reconnaissance phase upon system ingress. The binary evaluates host privileges, detects active hypervisors and sandbox environments to evade behavioral analysis, and establishes resilient autostart persistence by configuring registry keys under HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run or registering background Windows services. Operational mechanics characteristic of this family include reverse shell connections, process hollowing, privilege escalation, and lateral movement reconnaissance. Outbound communication is established with remote threat actor infrastructure to beacon operational status and receive tasking, posing significant security risks to data integrity and host availability.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk Threat Intelligence Team.",
  "aliases": [
    "Backdoor:Win32/Agobot",
    "Backdoor.Win32.Agobot",
    "Win32/Agobot"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "curated_sourced",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Backdoor:Win32/Agobot?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Agobot is a backdoor threat designed to infiltrate Windows systems and execute unauthorized operations without user consent."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How does Agobot compromise target systems?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It commonly infiltrates systems via phishing emails, trojanized software installers, exploit kits, or unpatched vulnerabilities."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What persistence mechanisms does Agobot utilize?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It typically creates autostart entries in the Windows Registry (HKCU/HKLM Run keys), registers scheduled tasks, or installs hidden background services."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What risks does Agobot pose to an enterprise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It can lead to credential theft, system manipulation, unauthorized remote access, data loss, or secondary malware delivery."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How can administrators detect and eliminate Agobot?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Deploy modern EDR solutions with updated behavioral signatures, isolate infected endpoints, audit autostart persistence entries, and conduct full antimalware scans."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq_count": 5,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1059.003",
    "T1055",
    "T1573",
    "T1547.001",
    "T1070"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-10-15",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1071.001",
      "name": "Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols (IRC for Command and Control)",
      "tactic": "Command and Control"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1498",
      "name": "Network Denial of Service (Coordinated DDoS attacks)",
      "tactic": "Impact"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1190",
      "name": "Exploit Public-Facing Application (Automated vulnerability scanning and exploitation)",
      "tactic": "Initial Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1543.003",
      "name": "Create or Modify System Process: Windows Service (Persistence)",
      "tactic": "Persistence"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Isolate the endpoint from the network immediately to sever its connection to the IRC botnet controller and stop it from attacking other machines.",
    "Block outbound IRC traffic (TCP port 6667) and any non-standard ports identified in the C2 communication at the enterprise firewall.",
    "Use the Windows Service Manager (services.msc) or EDR to forcefully stop and disable the unauthorized botnet service.",
    "Patch all endpoints against historical vulnerabilities (MS03-026, MS04-011) and disable unnecessary administrative network shares (IPC$)."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not assume the threat is minor because it is old; variants of the Agobot source code are still occasionally used in targeted attacks against unpatched legacy systems.",
    "Avoid relying solely on basic antivirus; the polymorphic engines used by modern Agobot variants can easily bypass static signatures."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ],
  "attack_stage": [
    "persistence",
    "command_and_control",
    "remote_access"
  ],
  "ecosystem": [
    "windows_pe"
  ],
  "is_emerging": false,
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "Microsoft Defender Threat Encyclopedia - Backdoor:Win32/Agobot",
      "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=Backdoor:Win32/Agobot"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaspersky Threat Intelligence - Backdoor.Win32.Agobot",
      "url": "https://threats.kaspersky.com/en/threat/"
    },
    {
      "name": "MITRE ATT&CK - Enterprise Techniques",
      "url": "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059.003/"
    }
  ],
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows Server 2022",
    "Windows Server 2019"
  ]
}