OSX_OCEANLOTUS.D

MITRE ATT&CK: S0352 View on attack.mitre.org

Aliases: Backdoor.MacOS.OCEANLOTUS.F, OSX_OCEANLOTUS.D

First seen
2015-01-01 00:00:00
Malware type
backdoor
Family
Malware family
Operating systems
macos
Profile updated
2026-07-07 12:50:42

Targeted industries: government-and-public-sector technology-and-telecommunications media-and-entertainment

Targeted regions: country_code:vn

Context

OSX_OCEANLOTUS.D is a macOS backdoor used by APT32. First discovered in 2015, APT32 has continued to make improvements using a plugin architecture to extend capabilities, specifically using `.dylib` files. OSX_OCEANLOTUS.D can also determine it's permission level and execute according to access type (`root` or `user`).

Detection coverage

  • 436 Sigma rules

Malware & tools used

  • Non-Application Layer Protocol (attack-pattern)
  • Linux and Mac Permissions (attack-pattern)
  • File Deletion (attack-pattern)
  • System Network Configuration Discovery (attack-pattern)
  • System Checks (attack-pattern)
  • Symmetric Cryptography (attack-pattern)
  • Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information (attack-pattern)
  • Unix Shell (attack-pattern)
  • System Information Discovery (attack-pattern)
  • Non-Standard Port (attack-pattern)
  • Launch Agent (attack-pattern)
  • Ingress Tool Transfer (attack-pattern)
  • Visual Basic (attack-pattern)
  • Hidden Files and Directories (attack-pattern)
  • Timestomp (attack-pattern)
  • Web Protocols (attack-pattern)
  • Standard Encoding (attack-pattern)
  • Launch Daemon (attack-pattern)
  • Software Packing (attack-pattern)
  • Archive via Library (attack-pattern)
  • Masquerade Task or Service (attack-pattern)
  • Data from Local System (attack-pattern)
  • Archive via Custom Method (attack-pattern)
  • Shared Modules (attack-pattern)
  • Gatekeeper Bypass (attack-pattern)

Used by threat actors

Reports & references

  • Trend Micro — New Macos Backdoor Connected To Oceanlotus Surfaces (report)
  • Trend Micro — New Macos Backdoor Linked To Oceanlotus Found (report)
  • MITRE ATT&CK — S0352 (report)
  • Palo Alto Unit 42 — Unit42 New Improved Macos Backdoor Oceanlotus (report)

External references