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Malware Development for Ethical Hackers - Second Edition

Name: Malware Development for Ethical Hackers - Second Edition
Author: Zhassulan Zhussupov
ISBN: 9781807427597

by Zhassulan Zhussupov

August 2026

Intermediate

258 pages

5h 8m

English

Packt Publishing

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Preface
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Chapter 1: Malware Families and Capabilities for Windows
Technical requirementsIntroduction to malware familiesWhat is malware development?Simple example: malware in CReverse shellsPractical example: reverse shellPractical example: reverse shell for WindowsDemo: reverse shell for WindowsExploring PE files (EXE and DLL)Practical lab: Simple Windows keyloggerDemo: Simple Windows keyloggerPractical lab: Simple Windows stealerDemo: Simple Windows stealerSummaryExercisesAdditional resources
Chapter 2: Exploring Malware Running Techniques for Windows
Technical requirementsUnderstanding shellcode running techniquesShellcode execution via function pointer castingExecution by creating a new threadUsing WINAPI callbacksUsing asynchronous procedure callsPractical example: Fiber-based executionAssessing malware injection techniquesTraditional injection approaches: code and DLLExecuting without injection: Using the debugging APIDemonstrating code injection techniquesIllustrating DLL injection techniquesExploring DLL hijacking techniquesUnderstanding APC injectionA practical example of APC injectionA practical example of APC injection via NtTestAlertDemonstrating API hooking techniquesSummaryExercisesAdditional resources
Chapter 3: Windows Malware Persistence Mechanisms
Technical requirementsUser-level persistence techniquesClassic path: Registry Run keysPersistence via screensaver mechanismAdmin-level persistence techniquesLeveraging registry keys utilized by Winlogon processImplementing DLL search order hijacking for persistenceExploiting Windows services for persistenceHunting for persistence: exploring non-trivial loopholesHijacking uninstall logic for applicationsDiscovering new persistence tricks and techniquesSummaryExercisesAdditional resources
Chapter 4: Bypass Windows OS Security and Cat and Mouse Game for Windows
Anti-debugging tricksDetecting debugger presenceIdentifying flags and artifactsProcessDebugFlagsAnti-virtual machine tricksFilesystem detection techniquesApproaches to hardware detectionIdentifying VMs through the registryNavigating the antivirus labyrinth: Game of cat and mouseMechanics of antivirus enginesStatic detection and analysisHeuristic detection and analysisDynamic heuristic analysisBehavior analysisPractical evasion of static detectionAdvanced evasion techniquesSyscallsSyscall IDUserland hookingDirect syscallsBypassing EDRSummaryExercisesAdditional resources
Chapter 5: Linux Malware Capabilities
Technical requirementsIntroduction to Linux malware familiesELF format and backdoorsELF backdoors: Entry point redirectionELF backdoors: Executable segment injectionKeyloggers: Abusing the input subsystemPractical lab: The /dev/input snifferInfostealersPractical lab: Linux infostealersSummaryExercisesAdditional resources
Chapter 6: Exploring Malware Running Techniques for Linux
Technical requirementsASM and Linux shellcode programming"Hello Meow": Your first x86_64 shellcodeClassic x86_64 execve shellLinux shellcode running techniquesMethod 1: The classic function pointer castMethod 2: mmap approachShared library redirection techniquesLinux malware injection techniquesAutomating target (victim) discoveryLinux process injection via ptraceLinux fileless loader malwareSummaryExercises
Chapter 7: Linux Malware Persistence Mechanisms
Technical requirementsUser-land session persistence techniquesPractical lab: The .bashrc infectorThe XDG Autostart techniqueScheduled execution persistence techniquesAutomating Crontab InjectionThe systemd timer dropper techniqueSystem-wide persistence techniquesSystem-wide hijacking via library preloadingSummaryExercisesAdditional resources
Chapter 8: Unlock the Code Bundle and the PDF Version
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Index

Content preview from Malware Development for Ethical Hackers - Second Edition

6 Exploring Malware Running Techniques for Linux

This chapter details how Linux malware executes and hides within processes using shell scripts, ELF binaries, LD_PRELOAD, ptrace‑based injection, and reflective loading via memfd_create. Readers walk through step-by-step development of injection techniques, understand process memory mapping, and implement a simple loader that runs shellcode from memory—laying the groundwork for rootkits and stealth persistence. This chapter teaches various techniques for executing and injecting malicious code on Linux, focusing on shellcode, ELF manipulation, and process injection without relying on traditional binary execution methods. All examples are designed for safe red team simulation and malware lab development. ...

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Malware Development for Ethical Hackers - Second Edition

by Zhassulan Zhussupov

6

Exploring Malware Running Techniques for Linux

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
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