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MITRE ATT&CK® Malware

S0632: GrimAgent

GrimAgent is a backdoor that has been used before the deployment of Ryuk ransomware since at least 2020; it is likely used by FIN6 and Wizard Spider.[1]

EnterpriseS0632MalwareObject v1.1Modified
Glexia's Take · Automated analysis

Security context for executives and security teams

Automation confidenceMedium

S0632: GrimAgent describes [GrimAgent](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0632) is a backdoor that has been used before the deployment of [Ryuk](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0446) ransomware since at least 2020; it is likely used by [FIN6](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0037) and [Wizard Spider](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0102).(Citation: Group IB GrimAgent July 2021)

Executive priority

S0632: GrimAgent 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 S0632: GrimAgent by reviewing the official ATT&CK relationships, mapped tactics (the mapped ATT&CK tactic context), supported platforms (Windows), 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 S0632: GrimAgent 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

GrimAgent

GrimAgent is a backdoor that has been used before the deployment of Ryuk ransomware since at least 2020; it is likely used by FIN6 and Wizard Spider.[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.

25 rows
DomainIDNameRelationship / procedure
EnterpriseT1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup FolderSub-technique

GrimAgent can set persistence with a Registry run key.[1]

EnterpriseT1059.003Windows Command ShellSub-technique

GrimAgent can use the Windows Command Shell to execute commands, including its own removal.[1]

EnterpriseT1053.005Scheduled TaskSub-technique

GrimAgent has the ability to set persistence using the Task Scheduler.[1]

EnterpriseT1005Data from Local System

GrimAgent can collect data and files from a compromised host.[1]

EnterpriseT1033System Owner/User Discovery

GrimAgent can identify the user id on a target machine.[1]

EnterpriseT1573.002Asymmetric CryptographySub-technique

GrimAgent can use a hardcoded server public RSA key to encrypt the first request to C2.[1]

EnterpriseT1083File and Directory Discovery

GrimAgent has the ability to enumerate files and directories on a compromised host.[1]

EnterpriseT1105Ingress Tool Transfer

GrimAgent has the ability to download and execute additional payloads.[1]

EnterpriseT1016System Network Configuration Discovery

GrimAgent can enumerate the IP and domain of a target system.[1]

EnterpriseT1132.001Standard EncodingSub-technique

GrimAgent can base64 encode C2 replies.[1]

EnterpriseT1573.001Symmetric CryptographySub-technique

GrimAgent can use an AES key to encrypt C2 communications.[1]

EnterpriseT1106Native API

GrimAgent can use Native API including GetProcAddress and ShellExecuteW.[1]

EnterpriseT1480.002Mutual ExclusionSub-technique

GrimAgent uses the last 64 bytes of the binary to compute a mutex name. If the generated name is invalid, it will default to the generic `mymutex`.[1]

EnterpriseT1614.001System Language DiscoverySub-technique

GrimAgent has used Accept-Language to identify hosts in the United Kingdom, United States, France, and Spain.[1]

EnterpriseT1497.003Time Based ChecksSub-technique

GrimAgent can sleep for 195 - 205 seconds after payload execution and before deleting its task.[1]

EnterpriseT1614System Location Discovery

GrimAgent can identify the country code on a compromised host.[1]

EnterpriseT1070.009Clear PersistenceSub-technique

GrimAgent can delete previously created tasks on a compromised host.[1]

EnterpriseT1140Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information

GrimAgent can use a decryption algorithm for strings based on Rotate on Right (RoR) and Rotate on Left (RoL) functionality.[1]

EnterpriseT1001.001Junk DataSub-technique

GrimAgent can pad C2 messages with random generated values.[1]

EnterpriseT1070.004File DeletionSub-technique

GrimAgent can delete old binaries on a compromised host.[1]

EnterpriseT1027Obfuscated Files or Information

GrimAgent has used Rotate on Right (RoR) and Rotate on Left (RoL) functionality to encrypt strings.[1]

EnterpriseT1071.001Web ProtocolsSub-technique

GrimAgent has the ability to use HTTP for C2 communications.[1]

EnterpriseT1082System Information Discovery

GrimAgent can collect the OS, and build version on a compromised host.[1]

EnterpriseT1041Exfiltration Over C2 Channel

GrimAgent has sent data related to a compromise host over its C2 channel.[1]

EnterpriseT1027.001Binary PaddingSub-technique

GrimAgent has the ability to add bytes to change the file hash.[1]

Associated objects

Groups, software, and campaigns

GroupEnterprise

G0037: FIN6

FIN6 is a cyber crime group that has stolen payment card data and sold it for profit on underground marketplaces. This group has aggressively targeted and compromised point of sale (PoS) systems in the hospitality and retail sectors.[1][2]

GroupEnterprise

G0102: Wizard Spider

Wizard Spider is a Russia-based financially motivated threat group originally known for the creation and deployment of TrickBot since at least 2016. Wizard Spider possesses a diverse arsenal of tools and has conducted ransomware campaigns against a variety of organizations, ranging from major corporations to hospitals.[1][2][3]

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
1.1
Created
Modified
Raw hash
70bd28a09a4e86d8...
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(2)
ReleaseBundle importedObject versionModifiedStatusRaw hash
19.21.1Current bundle70bd28a09a4e…
19.11.1Older bundle70bd28a09a4e…
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]
    Group IB GrimAgent July 2021

    Priego, A. (2021, July). THE BROTHERS GRIM: THE REVERSING TALE OF GRIMAGENT MALWARE USED BY RYUK. Retrieved September 19, 2024.

    Open source URL
  2. [2]
    mitre-attackS0632
    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.