Remexi

Category: trojan · Aliases: Backdoor.Remexi, Trojan.Remexi, APT.Chafer, APT39 · Sample count (EMBER 2018): 1 · Enrichment: insufficient_information · Updated: 2026-07-02T06:59:32Z
Category: TrojanActor: Unknown / CybercriminalIndustry: Global / OpportunisticMotivation: Opportunistic

Overview

Executive Summary

Remexi is a sophisticated Backdoor Trojan historically attributed to the Iranian-linked Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group known as Chafer (APT39). This group primarily targets telecommunications, travel, and IT sectors in the Middle East, with a strong focus on tracking individuals and stealing massive volumes of personal data (PII) for state-sponsored espionage.

Infection Vector and Technical Capabilities

The Chafer group typically gains initial access via SQL injection attacks on vulnerable public-facing web servers or through highly targeted spear-phishing campaigns. Once inside the perimeter, they deploy Remexi to establish a covert, persistent foothold. Remexi is designed for long-term espionage and data theft:

Threat Assessment

The detection of Remexi is a critical, "break-glass" security incident indicating a successful breach by a highly motivated, state-sponsored adversary. The primary risk is the silent, ongoing theft of highly sensitive corporate databases, customer PII, or intellectual property.

Incident Response and Remediation

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

This family has been observed using the following ATT&CK techniques: T1059.003 T1071.001 T1003.001 T1105

Tactical Mitigations

Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:

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_REMEXI {
    meta:
        description = "Detects Remexi (trojan)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Boilerplate Generator"
        date = "2026-07-06"
    strings:
        $s1 = "remexi" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "backdoor.remexi" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "trojan.remexi" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "apt.chafer" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "apt39" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious Remexi Activity
id: eb6c61319e7abfed3e8d3898d7b6d92c
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the remexi malware family.
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith:
            - '\cmd.exe'
            - '\powershell.exe'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - "*remexi*"
            - "*backdoor.remexi*"
            - "*trojan.remexi*"
            - "*apt.chafer*"
            - "*apt39*"
    condition: selection
level: medium

References & External Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I remove the Remexi Trojan from Windows?

Manual removal of Remexi is highly discouraged as it may leave persistence mechanisms intact. We recommend disconnecting the device from the internet and utilizing a professional incident response service or enterprise-grade EDR software to conduct a full forensic sweep.

Is Remexi a virus or a Trojan?

Remexi is classified as a Trojan. Unlike traditional viruses that infect files, modern malware like Remexi typically operates as a standalone payload designed to compromise systems, steal data, or deploy secondary stage implants.

What are the main symptoms of a Remexi infection?

Symptoms of Remexi can include unexpected system slowness, unauthorized outbound network traffic to unknown IP addresses, disabled security software, and suspicious background processes running from AppData or Temp directories.

Related Families (Category: trojan)

Explore other malware families in the same category:

Protect Your Network Against Trojans

Want to prevent Remexi and similar threats from compromising your organization? Read our comprehensive defensive guide: Banking Trojan Protection.

Need help with an active incident? Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://jordan123234-malware-families-explorer.static.hf.space/api/remexi.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.