{
  "family": "hpcubestlr",
  "sample_count": 2,
  "category": "trojan",
  "description": "Trojan:Win32/Hpcubestlr is a highly specialized Information Stealer (Info-Stealer) specifically engineered to locate, extract, and exfiltrate highly sensitive data from compromised endpoints. Unlike broad-spectrum trojans, Hpcubestlr targets high-value data repositories: saved web browser credentials, cryptocurrency wallet files (`T1114`), system configuration files, and authentication tokens (like Discord or Telegram session hijacking).<br><br><b>Understanding Hpcubestlr (Info-Stealers)</b><br>To an end-user, the infection is entirely invisible. For a security team, Hpcubestlr represents an immediate, catastrophic breach of confidentiality. The stolen credentials are often immediately utilized by the attackers for lateral movement, or packaged and sold on dark web marketplaces (like Genesis Market or 2easy) to Initial Access Brokers.<br><br><b>Execution and Extraction Mechanics</b><br>Hpcubestlr is distributed through various vectors: cracked software portals, spear-phishing (`T1566.001`), or dropped by other malware (like a botnet). Upon execution, it does not typically establish long-term persistence; its goal is 'smash and grab.' It rapidly scans the file system for known credential store locations (`T1555.003`), utilizing built-in SQLite parsing to extract passwords from Chrome, Edge, and Firefox without requiring user interaction. It specifically targets cryptocurrency extensions (like MetaMask) and desktop wallets (like Electrum or Bitcoin Core). It packages this data into a compressed archive (`T1560.001`) and exfiltrates it immediately to a C2 server, often via a Telegram bot API or a hardcoded FTP server.<br><br><b>Indicators of Compromise & Impact</b><br>The impact is the total compromise of the user's digital identity and the high probability of subsequent enterprise breaches if corporate credentials were stolen. Host-based IoCs include EDR alerts for anomalous file reads targeting `AppData\\Local\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data` or cryptocurrency wallet directories by an unknown executable. File integrity monitoring may detect the sudden creation and deletion of ZIP or RAR archives in the `%Temp%` directory. Network IoCs include a sudden burst of outbound HTTPS traffic (the exfiltration) immediately following the execution of an untrusted file.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [],
  "enrichment_level": "expert-seo",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Hpcubestlr and what threat category does it belong to?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Hpcubestlr is classified as a Trojan. Documented across security telemetry, it is engineered to execute unauthorized operations, establish persistent footholds on target endpoints, and facilitate malicious campaigns targeting enterprise and individual environments."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How does Hpcubestlr establish persistence and evade defensive controls?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Hpcubestlr typically establishes persistence through registry run keys, scheduled tasks, or service installations, while evading signature-based antivirus solutions through code obfuscation, memory injection, or anti-analysis sandbox checks."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What are the essential incident response steps for mitigating a Hpcubestlr compromise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Security teams responding to Hpcubestlr should immediately isolate affected endpoints from the network, perform memory triage to capture volatile forensic artifacts, audit registry and startup persistence mechanisms, revoke exposed user credentials, and restore systems from verified, clean backups."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What secondary payloads and staging behaviors are commonly associated with Hpcubestlr?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Hpcubestlr frequently operates as a loader or dropper designed to establish a foothold before downloading and executing secondary high-impact malware payloads. Depending on the threat actor's objectives, these dropped modules can range from ransomware and banking injects to modular infostealers and remote management backdoors."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How can security operations teams effectively detect and hunt for Hpcubestlr across enterprise endpoints?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Defenders should hunt for Hpcubestlr by deploying behavioral endpoint detection and response (EDR) rules that monitor suspicious process spawning (such as cmd.exe or powershell.exe spawned from office documents or temporary directories), anomalous outbound network connections from non-browser binaries, and unauthorized modifications to Windows Run keys and scheduled task registries."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq_count": 5,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1114",
    "T1555.003",
    "T1560.001",
    "T1041"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-06-09",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1555.003",
      "name": "Credentials from Password Stores: Credentials from Web Browsers (Extracting saved passwords)",
      "tactic": "Credential Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1114",
      "name": "Email Collection (Stealing email client data and tokens)",
      "tactic": "Collection"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1560.001",
      "name": "Archive Collected Data: Archive via Utility (Compressing stolen data for exfiltration)",
      "tactic": "Collection"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1041",
      "name": "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel",
      "tactic": "Exfiltration"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Assume ALL credentials stored on the infected machine, or typed during the infection window, are compromised. Initiate immediate password resets.",
    "Isolate the machine to prevent any further data exfiltration, although the 'smash and grab' is usually completed within minutes of execution.",
    "Revoke and regenerate all active session tokens (e.g., VPN tokens, Slack/Discord tokens, AWS keys) that were present on the machine.",
    "Analyze the exfiltration network traffic to determine exactly what data was successfully transmitted to the attacker."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not assume the machine is safe just because the AV deleted the stealer executable; the data has already been stolen and requires immediate remediation.",
    "Avoid delaying the credential reset process; stolen credentials are often monetized or utilized within hours of the theft."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ],
  "attack_stage": [
    "execution",
    "persistence"
  ],
  "ecosystem": [
    "windows_pe"
  ],
  "is_emerging": false,
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows 7"
  ]
}