{
  "family": "magistrcorr",
  "sample_count": 1,
  "category": "advanced_threat",
  "description": "<h3>Executive Summary</h3>\nMagistrcorr is a heuristic detection applied to variants, remnants, or corrupted (hence \"corr\") versions of the notorious Win32/Magistr family. Magistr is a complex, destructive polymorphic virus and mass-mailing worm that caused widespread damage in the early 2000s. While active outbreaks are rare today on modern operating systems, the detection of a Magistr variant indicates a severe legacy infection or the presence of a highly destructive payload capable of wiping hard drives and destroying BIOS firmware.\n\n<h3>Infection Vector and Technical Capabilities</h3>\nMagistr traditionally spreads by harvesting email addresses from the infected machine's address book (Outlook, Eudora) and mailing itself out with randomly generated subject lines and attachments. It also infects executable files (`.exe`, `.scr`) on local and mapped network drives.\n\nUpon execution, Magistr exhibits highly destructive behavior:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Polymorphic File Infection:</strong> Magistr infects PE (Portable Executable) files by injecting its code and altering the entry point. It is highly polymorphic, meaning the virus encrypts its own body with a different key for every infected file, making signature-based detection difficult.</li>\n<li><strong>Mass-Mailing and Lateral Movement:</strong> It implements its own SMTP engine to mass-mail copies of infected files to harvested email addresses, utilizing the compromised host to attack external networks and internal peers.</li>\n<li><strong>Destructive Payload (Time Bomb):</strong> The most critical threat is its delayed destructive payload. After a certain period (e.g., one month after initial infection), the virus attempts to overwrite the system's hard drive with garbage data (wiping the MBR and FAT) and attempts to flash (destroy) the motherboard's BIOS firmware, rendering the computer permanently unbootable (similar to the CIH/Chernobyl virus).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<h3>Threat Assessment</h3>\nA Magistr detection is a critical security incident. The malware is exceptionally destructive. Even if the \"corr\" designation implies the file is corrupted and potentially non-functional, it indicates that a highly destructive, self-replicating virus was present on the network.\n\n<h3>Incident Response and Remediation</h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Immediate Isolation (Hard Stop):</strong> Instantly isolate the machine from the network. If the destructive payload is suspected to be active, a hard power-off is recommended to prevent the hard drive from being wiped.</li>\n<li><strong>Forensic Triage:</strong> Boot the machine from a clean, offline environment (e.g., a Linux Live USB) to scan the drive and attempt data recovery before attempting any disinfection.</li>\n<li><strong>Complete System Rebuild:</strong> Because Magistr deeply infects system executables and can damage firmware, attempting to \"clean\" the files is highly unreliable. The machine must be completely wiped, the BIOS flashed with a clean image from the manufacturer, and the OS re-installed from a known-good baseline.</li>\n</ul>",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [
    "Virus.Win32.Magistr",
    "Worm.Magistr",
    "Win32/Magistr.corrupt"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "insufficient_information",
  "faq": [],
  "faq_count": 0,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1485",
    "T1561.002",
    "T1055"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-07-02T07:34:37Z",
  "type": "Virus / Mass-Mailing Worm (Destructive)",
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ]
}