Coolvibes

Overview

Coolvibes is a legacy Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that gained notoriety in the late 1990s and early 2000s for enabling unauthorized control over Windows operating systems. Utilizing a standard client-server architecture, the malware secretly installs a server module on the victims PC, which binds to a specific port and listens for incoming commands from the attackers client interface. Coolvibes is particularly recognized for its extensive and somewhat juvenile feature set, which includes serious capabilities like file system browsing, registry editing, and password theft, alongside harassment features such as opening and closing the CD-ROM tray, hiding the Windows taskbar, and displaying persistent, unclosable message boxes. Distributed frequently via P2P file-sharing networks and bundled with cracked software or fake game generators, Coolvibes heavily relies on user deception for execution. Although easily detected and removed by modern endpoint protection, it remains a classic example of early script-kiddie malware tools.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Cool Vibes RAT
• Win32.Coolvibes

Family Pedigree & Lineage

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

Derived From / Upstream Ancestry: Visual_Basic_Remote_Access_Trojan

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Coolvibes_V1.0 · Trojan.Coolvibes

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:

• 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: Monitor network traffic for anomalous application layer protocols like non-standard HTTP/S patterns or unexpected DNS requests.

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

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

Indicators of Compromise

Public indicators drawn from CISA advisories and vendor reporting. These are historical and intended for retrospective threat hunting; current campaigns may use different infrastructure. SystemHelpDesk adheres to responsible disclosure and does not host live samples.

File hashes (SHA-256, sample)

Cryptographic hashes serve as reference indicators for triage and detection rules. In accordance with responsible threat intelligence disclosure, this catalog indexes reference metadata and does not host or distribute live malware binaries.

• d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4
• e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5

Delivery vectors

• P2P file sharing distributions masked as media players and software cracks
• Phishing email attachments containing VB-compiled dropper stagers

Persistence mechanisms

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\CoolvibesClient
• Windows Startup folder executable link '%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\coolvibes.exe'

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_COOLVIBES_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Coolvibes"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "coolvibes" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "cool vibes rat" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "win32.coolvibes" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Coolvibes (Trojan) Execution & Triage
id: 64301d36-6b5a-5029-99b5-86a4e024dfb3
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Coolvibes malware family. Detects suspicious execution from temporary user
  directories with hidden window flags and background transfer utilities.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/coolvibes
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/downloader-dropper-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.trojan
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1071
- attack.t1056_001
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \cmd.exe
    - \powershell.exe
    - \cscript.exe
    - \wscript.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - AppData\Local\Temp
    - -WindowStyle Hidden
    - /e:jscript
    - bitsadmin /transfer
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: medium

rule MALWARE_WIN_COOLVIBES_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Coolvibes 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 = "coolvibes" 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. Isolate affected endpoints from the network immediately to sever unauthorized command and control communication.
2. Identify and terminate active Coolvibes binaries and associated parent-child process chains.
3. Audit persistence vectors including Registry Run keys, Scheduled Tasks, and services for unauthorized entries.
4. Collect forensic disk and memory triage artifacts before conducting system re-imaging.

What to Avoid

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

1. Do not attempt manual string or file deletion while network connections remain active; this can trigger secondary dropper routines.
2. Avoid restoring from backups without verifying that the backup snapshot predates initial Coolvibes installation.

References & External Analysis

• Kaspersky Virus Encyclopedia - Trojan.Win32.Coolvibes
• NIST National Vulnerability Database - CVE-2012-0158
• Search "coolvibes" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "coolvibes" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "coolvibes" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Trojan)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Genericrxfj
• Subseven
• Rialega
• Netdevil
• Drooptroop
• Fakeff
• Dnschange
• Llac

Machine-readable

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