Malicious Fire Ant Hypervisor Backdoor Artifacts on ESXi and vCenter (via file_event)

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1505Server Software Component
- T1543Create or Modify System Process
Priv Esc
- T1543Create or Modify System Process
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of file artifacts associated with Fire Ant persistence on ESXi and vCenter systems, including a Python HTTP backdoor and a listening implant along with extracted trust certificates. These specific paths correspond to backdoors deployed beneath the hypervisor to maintain covert access and are not part of a standard VMware installation.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Fire Ant Hypervisor Backdoor Artifacts on ESXi and vCenter (via file_event)

Pivot detection · T1543 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

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