XtremeProtectorv106

Hunt Hypothesis

This hunt hypothesis targets adversaries leveraging the specific malware signature identified by the XtremeProtectorv106 YARA rule to detect early-stage infection or reconnaissance activities within the environment. Proactively hunting for this indicator in Azure Sentinel allows the SOC team to validate low-severity alerts that may represent initial footholds, ensuring rapid containment before potential lateral movement occurs.

YARA Rule

rule XtremeProtectorv106
{
      meta:
		author="malware-lu"
strings:
		$a0 = { B8 [3] 00 B9 75 [2] 00 50 51 E8 05 00 00 00 E9 4A 01 00 00 60 8B 74 24 24 8B 7C 24 28 FC B2 80 8A 06 46 88 07 47 BB 02 00 00 00 02 D2 75 05 8A 16 46 12 D2 73 EA 02 D2 75 05 8A 16 46 12 D2 73 4F 33 C0 02 D2 75 05 8A 16 46 12 D2 0F 83 DF 00 00 00 02 }

condition:
		$a0 at pe.entry_point
}

Deployment Notes

This YARA rule can be deployed in the following contexts:

• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint — Custom indicators / advanced hunting
• Email Gateway — Attachment scanning
• File Share Monitoring — Periodic scanning of shared drives
• YARA CLI — Manual threat hunting on endpoints

This rule contains 1 string patterns in its detection logic.

• Source Rule

False Positive Guidance

Here are 4 specific false positive scenarios for the XtremeProtectorv106 detection rule, including targeted filters and exclusions:

• Scenario: Antivirus Engine Self-Protection Scans

  • Context: The native antivirus engine (e.g., Symantec Endpoint Protection or Microsoft Defender) performs a scheduled deep scan of its own installation directory (C:\Program Files\XtremeProtector). During this process, the scanner’s service executable (rtvscan64.exe or MsMpEng.exe) spawns child processes that load dynamic libraries (.dll) matching the YARA signature patterns intended for threat detection.
  • Filter/Exclusion: Create a whitelist exclusion based on the parent process and file path. Exclude alerts where the Parent Process Name is rtvscan64.exe or MsMpEng.exe AND the File Path contains \Program Files\XtremeProtector\.

• Scenario: Automated Patch Deployment via SCCM/Intune

  • Context: During a scheduled maintenance window, the enterprise deployment tool (Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM) or Intune) pushes a security update package. The installation agent (ccmsetup.exe or WindowsUpdate) extracts temporary installer archives that contain signed binaries identical to those flagged by the rule, triggering an alert before the full installation completes.
  • Filter/Exclusion: Implement a time-based exclusion for alerts occurring between 02:00 and 04:00 UTC on weekdays, specifically filtering out events where the Process Name is ccmsetup.exe or Microsoft.WindowsUpdate.Orchestrator.Client.

• Scenario: Database Backup Routine by SQL Agent

  • Context: The SQL Server Agent executes a nightly backup job that invokes a custom PowerShell