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MITRE ATT&CK® Malware

S0341: Xbash

Xbash is a malware family that has targeted Linux and Microsoft Windows servers. The malware has been tied to the Iron Group, a threat actor group known for previous ransomware attacks. Xbash was developed in Python and then converted into a self-contained Linux ELF executable by using PyInstaller.[1]

EnterpriseS0341MalwareObject v1.2Modified
Glexia's Take · Automated analysis

Security context for executives and security teams

Automation confidenceMedium

S0341: Xbash describes [Xbash](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0341) is a malware family that has targeted Linux and Microsoft Windows servers. The malware has been tied to the Iron Group, a threat actor group known for previous ransomware attacks. [Xbash](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0341) was developed in Python and then converted into a self-contained Linux ELF executable by using PyInstaller.(Citation: Unit42 Xbash Sept 2018)

Executive priority

S0341: Xbash is an official MITRE ATT&CK software. Glexia treats it as defensive behavior context for prioritizing monitoring, control validation, and response planning without using the object by itself as an attribution claim.

Technical view

Security teams should validate S0341: Xbash by reviewing the official ATT&CK relationships, mapped tactics (the mapped ATT&CK tactic context), supported platforms (Windows, Linux), and available local telemetry before making detection or mitigation decisions.

Likely telemetry

  • Official ATT&CK relationships and object metadata
  • Network, endpoint, and security-tool telemetry

Detection direction

  • Validate whether S0341: Xbash appears in your detection coverage and tabletop scenarios.
  • Use the object to align executive risk language with SOC, incident response, and detection engineering work.
  • Do not treat ATT&CK relationship context as attribution without corroborating evidence.

Mitigation priorities

  • Map the object to existing controls and identify missing telemetry or response ownership.
  • Prioritize mitigations that reduce exposure on the listed platforms and tactics.
  • Review adjacent ATT&CK relationships before changing policy, detections, or reporting language.
Additional notes and limits

Baseline Glexia take generated from the official MITRE ATT&CK STIX object, source hash, tactics, platforms, and detection fields. It is safe to replace with a richer model-generated take for the same source hash later.

This baseline take is source-grounded and schema-validated, but it does not include environment-specific telemetry, incident evidence, or threat-intelligence corroboration.

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Official MITRE ATT&CK definition

Xbash

Xbash is a malware family that has targeted Linux and Microsoft Windows servers. The malware has been tied to the Iron Group, a threat actor group known for previous ransomware attacks. Xbash was developed in Python and then converted into a self-contained Linux ELF executable by using PyInstaller.[1]

View the same entry on attack.mitre.org (MITRE-hosted reference; in-page links above use the Glexia ATT&CK library.)

Glexia analysis

How security teams should use this page

Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.

ATT&CK relationship table

Techniques used

This mirrors the MITRE pattern of making group, software, campaign, and technique relationships scannable. Relationship notes come from mirrored ATT&CK relationship text when available.

16 rows
DomainIDNameRelationship / procedure
EnterpriseT1071.001Web ProtocolsSub-technique

Xbash uses HTTP for C2 communications.[1]

EnterpriseT1485Data Destruction

Xbash has destroyed Linux-based databases as part of its ransomware capabilities.[1]

EnterpriseT1059.005Visual BasicSub-technique

Xbash can execute malicious VBScript payloads on the victim’s machine.[1]

EnterpriseT1218.005MshtaSub-technique

Xbash can use mshta for executing scripts.[1]

EnterpriseT1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup FolderSub-technique

Xbash can create a Startup item for persistence if it determines it is on a Windows system.[1]

EnterpriseT1053.003CronSub-technique

Xbash can create a cronjob for persistence if it determines it is on a Linux system.[1]

EnterpriseT1203Exploitation for Client Execution

Xbash can attempt to exploit known vulnerabilities in Hadoop, Redis, or ActiveMQ when it finds those services running in order to conduct further execution.[1]CitationTrend Micro Xbash Sept 2018

EnterpriseT1105Ingress Tool Transfer

Xbash can download additional malicious files from its C2 server.[1]

EnterpriseT1059.001PowerShellSub-technique

Xbash can use scripts to invoke PowerShell to download a malicious PE executable or PE DLL for execution.[1]

EnterpriseT1059.007JavaScriptSub-technique

Xbash can execute malicious JavaScript payloads on the victim’s machine.[1]

EnterpriseT1046Network Service Discovery

Xbash can perform port scanning of TCP and UDP ports.[1]

EnterpriseT1486Data Encrypted for Impact

Xbash has maliciously encrypted victim's database systems and demanded a cryptocurrency ransom be paid.[1]

EnterpriseT1110.001Password GuessingSub-technique

Xbash can obtain a list of weak passwords from the C2 server to use for brute forcing as well as attempt to brute force services with open ports.[1]CitationTrend Micro Xbash Sept 2018

EnterpriseT1218.010Regsvr32Sub-technique

Xbash can use regsvr32 for executing scripts.[1]

EnterpriseT1016System Network Configuration Discovery

Xbash can collect IP addresses and local intranet information from a victim’s machine.[1]

EnterpriseT1102.001Dead Drop ResolverSub-technique

Xbash can obtain a webpage hosted on Pastebin to update its C2 domain list.[1]

Relationship explorer

All related ATT&CK context

Change history

Object version and sync metadata

The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates.

ATT&CK release
19.2
Object version
1.2
Created
Modified
Raw hash
ad8948d71cab7aea...
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(2)
ReleaseBundle importedObject versionModifiedStatusRaw hash
19.21.2Current bundlead8948d71cab…
19.11.2Older bundlead8948d71cab…
Raw source

Mirrored ATT&CK source object

The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.

Source references

External references and citations

MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.

  1. [1]
    Unit42 Xbash Sept 2018

    Xiao, C. (2018, September 17). Xbash Combines Botnet, Ransomware, Coinmining in Worm that Targets Linux and Windows. Retrieved November 14, 2018.

    Open source URL
  2. [2]
    Xbash

    (Citation: Unit42 Xbash Sept 2018)

  3. [3]
    mitre-attackS0341
    Open source URL
Source and licensing

Source: MITRE ATT&CK®. © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Glexia is not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE.