Source URL: https://www.outflank.nl/blog/2024/10/15/introducing-early-cascade-injection-from-windows-process-creation-to-stealthy-injection/
Source: Hacker News
Title: Windows Process Injection
Feedly Summary: Comments
AI Summary and Description: Yes
**Summary:** The text introduces a novel process injection technique dubbed Early Cascade Injection, which enhances existing methods by executing more stealthily against Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems. The author provides a detailed technical analysis of Windows process creation, outlining the steps and points of intervention for both the new technique and its predecessors, highlighting their operational differences and implications for detection evasion.
**Detailed Description:**
The blog post covers several key areas related to the newly introduced Early Cascade Injection technique:
– **Introduction of Early Cascade Injection:**
– This novel technique combines aspects of Early Bird APC Injection and EDR-Preloading to achieve stealthy process injection.
– It targets user-mode process creation without using suspicious cross-process Asynchronous Procedure Calls (APCs), making it less detectable by EDRs.
– **Windows Process Creation:**
– The post describes the process creation flow in Windows, detailing the critical APIs such as `CreateProcess`, `CreateProcessAsUser`, and using `NtCreateUserProcess`.
– It emphasizes the sequence of operations split between kernel-mode and user-mode creations and how the `CREATE_SUSPENDED` flag can pause execution to allow for injection techniques.
– **Early Bird APC Injection Technique:**
– A well-known method that circumvents EDR detection by injecting code into a process before it starts execution.
– The process involves creating a suspended process, allocating memory, and queuing an APC for execution—all while trying to evade detection.
– **EDR-Preloading:**
– A mitigation strategy that aims to intercept EDR detection measures to prevent them from loading during early process creation.
– The technique leverages callback pointers in `ntdll.dll`, allowing code execution early in the process lifecycle.
– **Key Features of Early Cascade Injection:**
– Does not rely on remote execution primitives or cross-process queueing, which are closely monitored by EDRs.
– Utilizes writable memory sections (like `.mrdata` and `.data`) during process creation for modifications without changing memory protections.
– Based on an undocumented pointer, allowing for stealthier operations; however, updates to Windows may affect its reliability.
– **Technical Implications:**
– The technique involves intricate knowledge of Windows internals to bypass EDR detection effectively.
– Awareness of EDR timing in loading user-mode detection measures can inform strategies to gain control before detection occurs.
– **Potential Applications:**
– This research could aid security professionals in understanding vulnerabilities in EDRs and enhancing their defense strategies against sophisticated threat actors.
Overall, the blog positions Early Cascade Injection as a formidable advancement in process injection techniques and outlines its operational novelty in evading modern security measures. The insights provided can significantly benefit professionals in cybersecurity, particularly those focused on endpoint protection and threat mitigation strategies.