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- [Mobile Phishing Malicious Apps](generic-methodologies-and-resources/phishing-methodology/mobile-phishing-malicious-apps.md)
- [Phishing Files & Documents](generic-methodologies-and-resources/phishing-methodology/phishing-documents.md)
- [Basic Forensic Methodology](generic-methodologies-and-resources/basic-forensic-methodology/README.md)
- [Adaptixc2 Config Extraction And Ttps](generic-methodologies-and-resources/basic-forensic-methodology/adaptixc2-config-extraction-and-ttps.md)
- [Baseline Monitoring](generic-methodologies-and-resources/basic-forensic-methodology/file-integrity-monitoring.md)
- [Anti-Forensic Techniques](generic-methodologies-and-resources/basic-forensic-methodology/anti-forensic-techniques.md)
- [Docker Forensics](generic-methodologies-and-resources/basic-forensic-methodology/docker-forensics.md)
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- [Seccomp](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/docker-security/seccomp.md)
- [Weaponizing Distroless](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/docker-security/weaponizing-distroless.md)
- [Escaping from Jails](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/escaping-from-limited-bash.md)
- [Posix Cpu Timers Toctou Cve 2025 38352](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/linux-kernel-exploitation/posix-cpu-timers-toctou-cve-2025-38352.md)
- [euid, ruid, suid](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/euid-ruid-suid.md)
- [Interesting Groups - Linux Privesc](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/interesting-groups-linux-pe/README.md)
- [lxd/lxc Group - Privilege escalation](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/interesting-groups-linux-pe/lxd-privilege-escalation.md)
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- [Stack Shellcode - arm64](binary-exploitation/stack-overflow/stack-shellcode/stack-shellcode-arm64.md)
- [Stack Pivoting - EBP2Ret - EBP chaining](binary-exploitation/stack-overflow/stack-pivoting-ebp2ret-ebp-chaining.md)
- [Uninitialized Variables](binary-exploitation/stack-overflow/uninitialized-variables.md)
- [ROP and JOP](binary-exploitation/rop-return-oriented-programing/README.md)
- [ROP & JOP](binary-exploitation/rop-return-oriented-programing/README.md)
- [BROP - Blind Return Oriented Programming](binary-exploitation/rop-return-oriented-programing/brop-blind-return-oriented-programming.md)
- [Ret2csu](binary-exploitation/rop-return-oriented-programing/ret2csu.md)
- [Ret2dlresolve](binary-exploitation/rop-return-oriented-programing/ret2dlresolve.md)
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- [WWW2Exec - GOT/PLT](binary-exploitation/arbitrary-write-2-exec/aw2exec-got-plt.md)
- [WWW2Exec - \_\_malloc_hook & \_\_free_hook](binary-exploitation/arbitrary-write-2-exec/aw2exec-__malloc_hook.md)
- [Common Exploiting Problems](binary-exploitation/common-exploiting-problems.md)
- [Linux kernel exploitation - toctou](binary-exploitation/linux-kernel-exploitation/posix-cpu-timers-toctou-cve-2025-38352.md)
- [Windows Exploiting (Basic Guide - OSCP lvl)](binary-exploitation/windows-exploiting-basic-guide-oscp-lvl.md)
- [iOS Exploiting](binary-exploitation/ios-exploiting/README.md)
- [ios CVE-2020-27950-mach_msg_trailer_t](binary-exploitation/ios-exploiting/CVE-2020-27950-mach_msg_trailer_t.md)
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- [Stealing Sensitive Information Disclosure from a Web](todo/stealing-sensitive-information-disclosure-from-a-web.md)
- [Post Exploitation](todo/post-exploitation.md)
- [Investment Terms](todo/investment-terms.md)
- [Cookies Policy](todo/cookies-policy.md)

- [Posix Cpu Timers Toctou Cve 2025 38352](linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/linux-kernel-exploitation/posix-cpu-timers-toctou-cve-2025-38352.md)
- [Cookies Policy](todo/cookies-policy.md)
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# AdaptixC2 Configuration Extraction and TTPs

{{#include ../../banners/hacktricks-training.md}}

AdaptixC2 is a modular, open‑source post‑exploitation/C2 framework with Windows x86/x64 beacons (EXE/DLL/service EXE/raw shellcode) and BOF support. This page documents:
- How its RC4‑packed configuration is embedded and how to extract it from beacons
- Network/profile indicators for HTTP/SMB/TCP listeners
- Common loader and persistence TTPs observed in the wild, with links to relevant Windows technique pages

## Beacon profiles and fields

AdaptixC2 supports three primary beacon types:
- BEACON_HTTP: web C2 with configurable servers/ports/SSL, method, URI, headers, user‑agent, and a custom parameter name
- BEACON_SMB: named‑pipe peer‑to‑peer C2 (intranet)
- BEACON_TCP: direct sockets, optionally with a prepended marker to obfuscate protocol start

Typical profile fields observed in HTTP beacon configs (after decryption):
- agent_type (u32)
- use_ssl (bool)
- servers_count (u32), servers (array of strings), ports (array of u32)
- http_method, uri, parameter, user_agent, http_headers (length‑prefixed strings)
- ans_pre_size (u32), ans_size (u32) – used to parse response sizes
- kill_date (u32), working_time (u32)
- sleep_delay (u32), jitter_delay (u32)
- listener_type (u32)
- download_chunk_size (u32)

Example default HTTP profile (from a beacon build):

```json
{
"agent_type": 3192652105,
"use_ssl": true,
"servers_count": 1,
"servers": ["172.16.196.1"],
"ports": [4443],
"http_method": "POST",
"uri": "/uri.php",
"parameter": "X-Beacon-Id",
"user_agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.2; rv:20.0) Gecko/20121202 Firefox/20.0",
"http_headers": "\r\n",
"ans_pre_size": 26,
"ans_size": 47,
"kill_date": 0,
"working_time": 0,
"sleep_delay": 2,
"jitter_delay": 0,
"listener_type": 0,
"download_chunk_size": 102400
}
```

Observed malicious HTTP profile (real attack):

```json
{
"agent_type": 3192652105,
"use_ssl": true,
"servers_count": 1,
"servers": ["tech-system[.]online"],
"ports": [443],
"http_method": "POST",
"uri": "/endpoint/api",
"parameter": "X-App-Id",
"user_agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/121.0.6167.160 Safari/537.36",
"http_headers": "\r\n",
"ans_pre_size": 26,
"ans_size": 47,
"kill_date": 0,
"working_time": 0,
"sleep_delay": 4,
"jitter_delay": 0,
"listener_type": 0,
"download_chunk_size": 102400
}
```

## Encrypted configuration packing and load path

When the operator clicks Create in the builder, AdaptixC2 embeds the encrypted profile as a tail blob in the beacon. The format is:
- 4 bytes: configuration size (uint32, little‑endian)
- N bytes: RC4‑encrypted configuration data
- 16 bytes: RC4 key

The beacon loader copies the 16‑byte key from the end and RC4‑decrypts the N‑byte block in place:

```c
ULONG profileSize = packer->Unpack32();
this->encrypt_key = (PBYTE) MemAllocLocal(16);
memcpy(this->encrypt_key, packer->data() + 4 + profileSize, 16);
DecryptRC4(packer->data()+4, profileSize, this->encrypt_key, 16);
```

Practical implications:
- The entire structure often lives inside the PE .rdata section.
- Extraction is deterministic: read size, read ciphertext of that size, read the 16‑byte key placed immediately after, then RC4‑decrypt.

## Configuration extraction workflow (defenders)

Write an extractor that mimics the beacon logic:
1) Locate the blob inside the PE (commonly .rdata). A pragmatic approach is to scan .rdata for a plausible [size|ciphertext|16‑byte key] layout and attempt RC4.
2) Read first 4 bytes → size (uint32 LE).
3) Read next N=size bytes → ciphertext.
4) Read final 16 bytes → RC4 key.
5) RC4‑decrypt the ciphertext. Then parse the plain profile as:
- u32/boolean scalars as noted above
- length‑prefixed strings (u32 length followed by bytes; trailing NUL can be present)
- arrays: servers_count followed by that many [string, u32 port] pairs

Minimal Python proof‑of‑concept (standalone, no external deps) that works with a pre‑extracted blob:

```python
import struct
from typing import List, Tuple

def rc4(key: bytes, data: bytes) -> bytes:
S = list(range(256))
j = 0
for i in range(256):
j = (j + S[i] + key[i % len(key)]) & 0xFF
S[i], S[j] = S[j], S[i]
i = j = 0
out = bytearray()
for b in data:
i = (i + 1) & 0xFF
j = (j + S[i]) & 0xFF
S[i], S[j] = S[j], S[i]
K = S[(S[i] + S[j]) & 0xFF]
out.append(b ^ K)
return bytes(out)

class P:
def __init__(self, buf: bytes):
self.b = buf; self.o = 0
def u32(self) -> int:
v = struct.unpack_from('<I', self.b, self.o)[0]; self.o += 4; return v
def u8(self) -> int:
v = self.b[self.o]; self.o += 1; return v
def s(self) -> str:
L = self.u32(); s = self.b[self.o:self.o+L]; self.o += L
return s[:-1].decode('utf-8','replace') if L and s[-1] == 0 else s.decode('utf-8','replace')

def parse_http_cfg(plain: bytes) -> dict:
p = P(plain)
cfg = {}
cfg['agent_type'] = p.u32()
cfg['use_ssl'] = bool(p.u8())
n = p.u32()
cfg['servers'] = []
cfg['ports'] = []
for _ in range(n):
cfg['servers'].append(p.s())
cfg['ports'].append(p.u32())
cfg['http_method'] = p.s()
cfg['uri'] = p.s()
cfg['parameter'] = p.s()
cfg['user_agent'] = p.s()
cfg['http_headers'] = p.s()
cfg['ans_pre_size'] = p.u32()
cfg['ans_size'] = p.u32() + cfg['ans_pre_size']
cfg['kill_date'] = p.u32()
cfg['working_time'] = p.u32()
cfg['sleep_delay'] = p.u32()
cfg['jitter_delay'] = p.u32()
cfg['listener_type'] = 0
cfg['download_chunk_size'] = 0x19000
return cfg

# Usage (when you have [size|ciphertext|key] bytes):
# blob = open('blob.bin','rb').read()
# size = struct.unpack_from('<I', blob, 0)[0]
# ct = blob[4:4+size]
# key = blob[4+size:4+size+16]
# pt = rc4(key, ct)
# cfg = parse_http_cfg(pt)
```

Tips:
- When automating, use a PE parser to read .rdata then apply a sliding window: for each offset o, try size = u32(.rdata[o:o+4]), ct = .rdata[o+4:o+4+size], candidate key = next 16 bytes; RC4‑decrypt and check that string fields decode as UTF‑8 and lengths are sane.
- Parse SMB/TCP profiles by following the same length‑prefixed conventions.

## Network fingerprinting and hunting

HTTP
- Common: POST to operator‑selected URIs (e.g., /uri.php, /endpoint/api)
- Custom header parameter used for beacon ID (e.g., X‑Beacon‑Id, X‑App‑Id)
- User‑agents mimicking Firefox 20 or contemporary Chrome builds
- Polling cadence visible via sleep_delay/jitter_delay

SMB/TCP
- SMB named‑pipe listeners for intranet C2 where web egress is constrained
- TCP beacons may prepend a few bytes before traffic to obfuscate protocol start

## Loader and persistence TTPs seen in incidents

In‑memory PowerShell loaders
- Download Base64/XOR payloads (Invoke‑RestMethod / WebClient)
- Allocate unmanaged memory, copy shellcode, switch protection to 0x40 (PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE) via VirtualProtect
- Execute via .NET dynamic invocation: Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer + delegate.Invoke()

Check these pages for in‑memory execution and AMSI/ETW considerations:

{{#ref}}
../../windows-hardening/av-bypass.md
{{#endref}}

Persistence mechanisms observed
- Startup folder shortcut (.lnk) to re‑launch a loader at logon
- Registry Run keys (HKCU/HKLM ...\CurrentVersion\Run), often with benign‑sounding names like "Updater" to start loader.ps1
- DLL search‑order hijack by dropping msimg32.dll under %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Templates for susceptible processes

Technique deep‑dives and checks:

{{#ref}}
../../windows-hardening/windows-local-privilege-escalation/privilege-escalation-with-autorun-binaries.md
{{#endref}}

{{#ref}}
../../windows-hardening/windows-local-privilege-escalation/dll-hijacking/README.md
{{#endref}}

Hunting ideas
- PowerShell spawning RW→RX transitions: VirtualProtect to PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE inside powershell.exe
- Dynamic invocation patterns (GetDelegateForFunctionPointer)
- Startup .lnk under user or common Startup folders
- Suspicious Run keys (e.g., "Updater"), and loader names like update.ps1/loader.ps1
- User‑writable DLL paths under %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Templates containing msimg32.dll

## Notes on OpSec fields

- KillDate: timestamp after which the agent self‑expires
- WorkingTime: hours when the agent should be active to blend with business activity

These fields can be used for clustering and to explain observed quiet periods.

## YARA and static leads

Unit 42 published basic YARA for beacons (C/C++ and Go) and loader API‑hashing constants. Consider complementing with rules that look for the [size|ciphertext|16‑byte‑key] layout near PE .rdata end and the default HTTP profile strings.

## References

- [AdaptixC2: A New Open-Source Framework Leveraged in Real-World Attacks (Unit 42)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/adaptixc2-post-exploitation-framework/)
- [AdaptixC2 GitHub](https://github.com/Adaptix-Framework/AdaptixC2)
- [Adaptix Framework Docs](https://adaptix-framework.gitbook.io/adaptix-framework)
- [Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer – Microsoft Docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.runtime.interopservices.marshal.getdelegateforfunctionpointer)
- [VirtualProtect – Microsoft Docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/memoryapi/nf-memoryapi-virtualprotect)
- [Memory protection constants – Microsoft Docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/memory/memory-protection-constants)
- [Invoke-RestMethod – PowerShell](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/invoke-restmethod)
- [MITRE ATT&CK T1547.001 – Registry Run Keys/Startup Folder](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1547/001/)

{{#include ../../banners/hacktricks-training.md}}
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---

## AdaptixC2: Configuration Extraction and TTPs

See the dedicated page:

{{#ref}}
adaptixc2-config-extraction-and-ttps.md
{{#endref}}

## References

- [Unit42 – Evolving Tactics of SLOW#TEMPEST: A Deep Dive Into Advanced Malware Techniques](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/slow-tempest-malware-obfuscation/)
- SoTap: Lightweight in-app JNI (.so) behavior logger – [github.com/RezaArbabBot/SoTap](https://github.com/RezaArbabBot/SoTap)
- [Unit42 – AdaptixC2: A New Open-Source Framework Leveraged in Real-World Attacks](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/adaptixc2-post-exploitation-framework/)

{{#include ../../banners/hacktricks-training.md}}