{
  "family": "propagate",
  "sample_count": 67,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "Worm:Win32/Propagate is a behavioral heuristic detection utilized by antivirus engines to flag malware that aggressively attempts to copy itself across a network, removable drives, or email systems, exhibiting the classic, self-replicating characteristics of a computer worm.<br><br><b>Understanding Propagate</b><br>To an end-user, a Propagate detection indicates that the security software blocked a threat that was actively trying to spread. For a security analyst, the 'Propagate' designation highlights a severe risk to the broader network infrastructure. It is not a specific malware family; rather, it is a behavioral signature. The underlying payload could be a destructive ransomware variant (like WannaCry, which utilized SMB propagation), a botnet agent, or a cryptocurrency miner aiming to maximize its hashing power by infecting as many hosts as possible.<br><br><b>Execution and Evasion Strategies</b><br>The execution of a worm flagged as Propagate relies heavily on exploiting trusted communication channels. EDR telemetry will often show the malicious process rapidly querying the local ARP cache or Active Directory to build a list of target IP addresses. It will then attempt to authenticate to network shares (IPC$, ADMIN$) using stolen credentials (`T1078`), exploit known vulnerabilities (e.g., MS17-010 EternalBlue), or drop `autorun.inf` files onto any connected USB drives. The sheer volume of this automated lateral movement makes it highly noisy, but its speed can outpace human intervention.<br><br><b>Indicators of Compromise & Impact</b><br>The primary impact is a rapid, uncontrolled infection across the corporate network. Incident responders will observe a massive spike in outbound SMB (TCP 445), RDP (TCP 3389), or WMI traffic originating from the initially compromised host. EDR platforms will flag processes attempting to write executable files to mapped network drives or rapidly iterating through IP subnets.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [],
  "enrichment_level": "expert-seo",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Propagate and what threat category does it belong to?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Propagate is classified as a Ransomware. 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 Propagate establish persistence and evade defensive controls?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Propagate 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 Propagate compromise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Security teams responding to Propagate 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 cryptographic algorithms and file targeting techniques does Propagate employ during execution?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Propagate typically leverages hybrid cryptographic architectures combining symmetric stream or block ciphers (such as AES-256 or ChaCha20) for rapid file encryption with asymmetric algorithms (such as RSA-2048 or Curve25519) to securely protect the session keys. It aggressively targets sensitive file extensions including corporate documents, databases, virtual disks, and backups while systematically executing commands to delete Volume Shadow Copies (vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet) and disable system recovery options."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Are decryptors available for Propagate, and what is the recommended recovery procedure?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Decryption availability for Propagate depends on whether security researchers or law enforcement (such as the No More Ransom initiative) have recovered the master private keys or discovered flaws in its key generation routines. Victims should never pay the extortion demand, as payment fuels criminal operations without guaranteeing file restoration. The recommended recovery procedure entails isolating infected hosts, conducting forensic disk imaging, identifying the root access vector, and restoring validated systems from immutable offline backups."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq_count": 5,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1091",
    "T1047",
    "T1078",
    "T1566.001",
    "T1021.002"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-06-09",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1091",
      "name": "Replication Through Removable Media",
      "tactic": "Lateral Movement"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1021.002",
      "name": "Remote Services: SMB/Windows Admin Shares",
      "tactic": "Lateral Movement"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1078",
      "name": "Valid Accounts",
      "tactic": "Initial Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1566.001",
      "name": "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment",
      "tactic": "Initial Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1047",
      "name": "Windows Management Instrumentation",
      "tactic": "Execution"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Immediately sever the infected endpoint from the network; a Propagate detection implies the malware is actively attempting to infect adjacent hosts.",
    "Enforce strict network segmentation and temporarily block lateral SMB (TCP 445) and RDP traffic between workstation subnets.",
    "Audit all connected removable media (USB drives) and disable AutoRun/AutoPlay enterprise-wide via Group Policy.",
    "Perform a comprehensive sweep of the network to identify any other hosts exhibiting similar anomalous outbound scanning behavior."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not assume the threat is contained simply by quarantining the initial binary; the worm may have already successfully replicated to other endpoints.",
    "Avoid leaving the network unsegmented; a flat network topology allows worms to spread unimpeded."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Healthcare",
    "Critical Infrastructure",
    "Enterprise"
  ],
  "motivation": "Financial Extortion",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ],
  "attack_stage": [
    "defense_evasion",
    "impact"
  ],
  "ecosystem": [
    "windows_pe"
  ],
  "is_emerging": false,
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows Server 2022",
    "Windows Server 2019"
  ]
}