Ranpax

Overview

Ransomware:Win32/Ranpax is a destructive cryptographic ransomware family. Upon execution, it systematically encrypts critical user data, business documents, databases, and media files across local drives and accessible network shares (`T1486`). It is designed to cause immediate, catastrophic business disruption, holding the organization's data hostage until a cryptocurrency ransom is paid.

Understanding Ranpax (Ransomware Operations)
To an end-user, a Ranpax infection is immediately devastating: their desktop wallpaper is altered, their files are rendered inaccessible (often appended with a unique extension), and a ransom note (e.g., `DECRYPT_FILES.txt`) appears in every directory. For a security operations center (SOC), this represents a critical, enterprise-wide incident requiring immediate isolation protocols.

Execution and Encryption Mechanics
Ranpax is typically deployed manually by attackers after they have achieved domain-wide compromise (often via tools like Cobalt Strike or BloodHound). The operators use legitimate administrative tools (like PsExec or Group Policy - `T1569.002`) to deploy the ransomware binary simultaneously to all endpoints. Upon execution, Ranpax immediately attempts to impair defenses by stopping AV services and deleting Volume Shadow Copies (`vssadmin.exe Delete Shadows /All /Quiet` - `T1490`) to prevent easy data recovery. It then utilizes strong encryption algorithms (e.g., AES-256 combined with RSA) to rapidly encrypt files, dropping a ransom note containing communication instructions (usually via the Tor network) and a Bitcoin wallet address.

Indicators of Compromise & Impact
The impact is total operational paralysis and severe financial/reputational damage. Host-based IoCs are glaringly obvious: thousands of files being modified simultaneously, the deletion of Shadow Copies, the presence of ransom notes, and an altered desktop background. EDR telemetry will show massive spikes in file I/O operations (reads/writes) originating from a single, newly dropped executable. Network IoCs may include the ransomware attempting to reach out to Tor gateways or hardcoded C2 IP addresses to register the infection and acquire the public encryption key.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework:

Generated Detections (Boilerplate)

These YARA and Sigma rules are auto-generated based on the family name and aliases. They must be heavily tuned before deployment in a production environment.

YARA Rule

rule MALWARE_WIN_RANPAX {
    meta:
        description = "Detects Ranpax (ransomware)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Boilerplate Generator"
        date = "2026-07-06"
    strings:
        $s1 = "ranpax" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious Ranpax Activity
id: ed4f0582f689a5ab453577ff03acc803
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the ranpax malware family.
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith:
            - '\cmd.exe'
            - '\powershell.exe'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - "*ranpax*"
    condition: selection
level: medium

Containment & Response Steps

Ordered checklist for responders. Adapt to your environment and engage professional support for active incidents.

1. IMMEDIATELY isolate all affected endpoints from the network (unplug Ethernet, disable Wi-Fi) to halt the spread of encryption to network shares.
2. Do NOT reboot the machines if possible; capture RAM images, as the encryption keys may still reside in volatile memory.
3. Identify the 'Patient Zero' and determine the initial access vector (e.g., compromised VPN credentials, phishing) to prevent re-infection.
4. Engage a specialized Incident Response firm, notify legal counsel, and begin the process of restoring from offline, immutable backups.

What to Avoid

Common mistakes during response to this family that can destroy evidence, spread the infection, or worsen recovery.

1. Do not pay the ransom immediately; payment does not guarantee data recovery and funds criminal syndicates. Explore all decryption and backup options first.
2. Avoid connecting external backup drives to the infected network, as the ransomware will actively seek out and encrypt connected backups.

References & External Analysis

• Search "ranpax" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Families (Category: ransomware)

Explore other malware families in the same category:

• Fastpc
• Malkryp
• Cloverplus
• Fraudster
• Mimikatz

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://jordanricky1604-ship-it.github.io/malware-families-catalog/api/ranpax.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.