Gaming Engines: An Undetected Playground for Malware Loaders

Key Points/Topics	Details
Discovery	Check Point Research uncovered a new technique using the Godot Engine to execute malicious GDScript and deliver malware. This technique is undetected by most antivirus engines on VirusTotal.
Loader Name	GodLoader – a loader utilizing this technique, active since June 29, 2024.
Infection Statistics	Over 17,000 machines infected using this technique.
Distribution Method	Distributed by the Stargazers Ghost Network, a GitHub-based malware-as-a-service (MaaS) network.
Campaign Details	200+ repositories and 225+ Stargazers accounts were used to legitimize repositories distributing GodLoader.
Cross-Platform Targeting	Targets multiple platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Demonstrated infections on Linux and macOS.
Potential User Risk	Over 1.2 million Godot game users are at risk due to malicious scripts delivered as mods or downloadable content.
Godot Engine Overview	Open-source, feature-rich game engine supporting GDScript (Python-like), VisualScript, and C#. Allows cross-platform game development.
GodLoader Technique	Uses malicious GDScript within .pck files executed via the Godot Engine. Initially embedded .pck files were used; newer samples use external .pck files with encryption.
Proof of Concepts (PoCs)	Linux PoC: Downloads and executes payload using wget.
	MacOS PoC: Similar to Linux, uses wget to download and execute payloads.
Campaign Timeline	Campaigns executed on: - September 12, 2024 - September 14, 2024 - September 29, 2024 - October 3, 2024
Malicious Repository Strategy	Repositories starred by multiple accounts and frequently updated with GitHub actions to enhance visibility.
Anti-Detection Techniques	- Sandbox evasion using 3D Video Acceleration checks. - Anti-VM techniques like verifying GPU names and system storage size.
Payload Execution Process	- Adds C:\ drive to Microsoft Defender exclusions. - Downloads and executes payloads hosted on bitbucket.org.
Payloads Identified	- XMRig Miner (first discovered June 29, 2024). - RedLine Stealer (updated versions detected on July 6 and August 7, 2024).
Malware Hosting	Malicious payloads downloaded from bitbucket.org, indicating abuse of a legitimate platform.
Impact of GodLoader	Demonstrates how legitimate game engines can be exploited for malware delivery, posing significant risks to developers and players.

Read full article: https://research.checkpoint.com/2024/gaming-engines-an-undetected-playground-for-malware-loaders/

Disclaimer: The above summary has been generated by an AI language model