Kimsuky's Five-Stage GrimResource Loader: When an MMC File Becomes a Shellcode Injector

2026-03-12 Break Glass Intelligence

https://intel.breakglass.tech/post/kimsuky-s-five-stage-grimresource-loader-when-an-mmc-file-becomes-a-shellcode-injector

Thumbnail for Kimsuky's Five-Stage GrimResource Loader: When an MMC File Becomes a Shellcode Injector

Kimsuky is reported deploying a five-stage GrimResource loader that begins with a Microsoft Management Console .msc file and ends with roughly 1MB of x86 shellcode executed in memory. The plugin.msc sample embeds an XSL Transform payload in the MMC XML StringTable, runs obfuscated JScript, forces .NET 4.0, deserializes a BinaryFormatter object through a SortedSet/TypeConfuseDelegate gadget chain, and uses XamlReader.Parse() to trigger XAML-based shellcode injection. The chain uses custom BUxBF decryption, split-alphabet Base64, XOR keys, reversed Base64 with padding, GZip-compressed shellcode, RW-to-RX memory protection changes, and runtime API resolution to evade multiple defensive layers. The reported infrastructure includes 14 C2 IP addresses across UCloud HK and DAOU Technology, three dynamic DNS providers, and a uniform Apache/PHP/OpenSSL stack that suggests automated provisioning.

Indicators of Compromise

Type Value First Seen Last Seen
IPv4 152.32.138.146 2026-03-12 2026-06-01
IPv4 152.32.243.178 2026-03-12 2026-06-01
IPv4 152.32.139.149 2026-03-12 2026-06-01
IPv4 167.88.166.204 2026-03-12 2026-04-21
IPv4 118.194.249.109 2026-03-12 2026-04-17
HASH f239e3fedc4926ff3cf58f95bacff9d… 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
HASH 253d232e1485e7e60ff3380999412c7… 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
HASH 66126fa42accfb183f72e25b20750b97 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
HASH 6db53d66629f95a2d830a4f56e8c69f2 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
HASH 95f4954ad79fa972bfd4fe217608ed5… 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
EMAIL [email protected] 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
URL https://ndocs0link.dns.army/?na… 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
URL http://link-nid-log.oq7n2.dynv6… 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
URL https://mhjjh.dynv6.net/ 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
URL https://elecviews85.dynv6.net/?… 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
URL http://link-nid-log.oc9bk.dynv6… 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
DOMAIN mhjjh.dynv6.net 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
DOMAIN link-nid-log.oq7n2.dynv6.net 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
DOMAIN elecviews85.dynv6.net 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
DOMAIN ndocs0link.dns.army 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
DOMAIN link-nid-log.oc9bk.dynv6.net 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 118.194.248.134 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 118.194.248.246 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 118.194.248.183 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 152.32.243.215 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 118.193.69.19 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 27.102.137.140 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 101.36.114.231 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 101.36.114.66 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
IPv4 27.102.138.125 2026-03-12 2026-03-12
DOMAIN ucloud.cn 2024-07-24 2026-03-12

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