Tag: Malware

2025 Year in Review: Open Source DFIR Tools and Malware Analysis Projects

DFIR, Forensics, Mac, Malware, MITRE ATT&CK, PowerShell, Python, Raspberry Pi, Rust, SIgma, Triage, USB, yara

As 2025 draws to a close, I’m taking a moment to reflect on what turned out to be one of my most productive years in code. From major releases to entirely new projects, this year saw significant evolution across my DFIR toolkit—driven by real-world incident response needs, classroom teaching experiences, and late-night tinkering sessions fueled by good bourbon and better puzzles.

What started as continuing work on CyberPipe evolved into a year of substantial innovation: creating MalChela for YARA and malware analysis, building a portable Raspberry Pi forensics platform, developing automated timeline generation workflows, and crafting specialized utilities that solve specific problems I encountered in the field. Each tool represents not just lines of code, but practical solutions to challenges that digital forensics and incident response professionals face daily.

Whether you’re a seasoned forensic analyst, an incident responder building your toolkit, or a student just getting started in DFIR, my hope is that these open-source projects make your work a little easier and a lot more efficient. All tools remain freely available on GitHub, because I believe the best way to advance our field is to share knowledge and capabilities openly.

Here’s what kept me busy in 2025:

MalChela – YARA & Malware Analysis Toolkit (Rust)

My flagship project that evolved significantly throughout 2025:

  • March: Initial release – Combined 10 programs into one Rust workspace for YARA and malware analysis
  • May: v2.1 – Added smoother workflows, better third-party tool integration, and enhanced argument handling
  • May: v2.2 “REMnux Release” – Native support for REMnux, integrations with Volatility3, Tshark, YARA-X
  • June: v3.0 – Major update introducing Case Management system, FileMiner (replacing MismatchMiner), and tool suggestion capabilities based on file characteristics
  • July: v3.0.1 – Refinements to mStrings, improved MITRE mappings, “Select All” functionality, optimizations for running on Toby
  • August: v3.0.2 – Enhanced threat hunting with MITRE ATT&CK technique lookup

MalChela at a Glance

  • Rust-based malware analysis toolkit combining YARA scanning, file analysis, hash generation, string extraction with MITRE ATT&CK mapping, and automated malware sample extraction from password-protected archives 
  • Multiple specialized utilities including mzhash/xmzhash for corpus generation, file type mismatch detection, entropy analysis, PE structure examination, and fuzzy hashing capabilities 
  • Integrated threat intelligence with VirusTotal and Malware Bazaar API support, NSRL database queries for known-good file filtering, and Sigma rule application for IOC identification 
  • Case management system (v3.0) featuring unified tracking of files, tools, and notes in case.yaml format with auto-saved outputs, tagging, search functionality, and VS Code integration 
  • Extensible architecture supporting custom tool integration via tools.yamlconfiguration, enhanced support for Volatility 3, TShark, and YARA-X, with both GUI and CLI modes (WSL2-compatible on Windows)
  • Complete documentation embedded as PDF or online
MalChela v3.0: Case Management, FileMiner, and Smarter Triage

https://github.com/dwmetz/MalChela

CyberPipe – Incident Response Collection Tool (PowerShell)

Continued evolution of the enterprise digital evidence collection script:

  • May: v5.1 – Streamlined profiles with better flexibility, customizable collection profiles
  • October: v5.2 – Improved collection methods with dual disk space validation, SHA-256 hashing of artifacts, single-file reporting, network collection simplification
  • November: v5.3 – Critical PowerShell 5.1 compatibility fixes, dual validation logic, enhanced reliability across all PowerShell environments
CyberPipe v5.3: Enhanced PowerShell Compatibility and Reliability

https://github.com/dwmetz/CyberPipe

CyberPipe-Timeliner ✱New✱ (PowerShell)

  • November: CyberPipe-Timeliner – New companion project to CyberPipe that automates the workflow from Magnet Response collections to unified forensic timelines using Eric Zimmerman’s EZ Tools and ForensicTimeliner
CyberPipe-Timeliner: From Collection to Timeline in One Script

https://github.com/dwmetz/CyberPipe-Timeliner

Toby – Portable Raspberry Pi Forensics Toolkit

  • July: Released Toby – A compact forensics toolkit built on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W running customized Kali Linux, designed for headless operation via SSH/VNC, perfect for field analysis and malware triage
Portable Forensics with Toby: A Raspberry Pi Toolkit

Toby-Find

  • July: Toby-Find – Terminal-based command-line helper tool for discovering CLI forensics tools in KALI and REMnux environments, created initially for university teaching
Toby-Find: Simplifying Command-Line Forensics Tools

https://github.com/dwmetz/Toby

Crabwise – USB Device Benchmark Utility (Rust)

  • August: Released Crabwise – A lightweight USB benchmarking tool that measures true read/write speeds of USB devices for forensic workflows. Tests write throughput with pseudo-random data and read performance under uncached conditions. Includes logging functionality to track performance across different cables, hubs, and connection paths, helping forensic investigators optimize their hardware setups.
Is your USB device slowing down your forensic investigation?

https://github.com/dwmetz/Crabwise

Toolbox Utilities – Specialized Python and Bash Scripts

Standalone tools maintained in the Toolbox repository:

  • October: CoreBreaker.py – Breaks large yara-rules-core files into smaller .yar files for tool ingestion
  • October: EtTu.py – Caesar cipher brute force decoder (created for Murdle puzzle solving); After all, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
  • November: cloudtrail_timeline.py – Parses AWS CloudTrail JSON logs and outputs CSV format for Timeline Explorer
  • November: mac_triage_timeline.sh – Processes Mac-Triage ZIP files and generates timeline for Timeline Explorer
  • November: uac_timeline.sh – Processes UAC tar.gz files and generates timeline for Timeline Explorer (Linux/macOS)

https://github.com/dwmetz/Toolbox

All projects are available on my GitHub at github.com/dwmetz, with detailed documentation on bakerstreetforensics.com. My goal is making DFIR and malware analysis more accessible, automated, and efficient for incident responders and forensic analysts.

Enhance Threat Hunting with MITRE Lookup in MalChela 3.0.2

DFIR, Forensics, Malware, MITRE ATT&CK, Rust

Understanding adversary behavior is core to modern forensics and threat hunting. With the release of MalChela 3.0.2, I’ve added a new tool to your investigative belt: MITRE Lookup — a fast, offline way to search the MITRE ATT&CK framework directly from your MalChela workspace.

Whether you’re triaging suspicious strings, analyzing IOCs, or pivoting off YARA hits, MalChela can now help you decode tactics, techniques, and procedures without ever leaving your terminal or GUI. MITRE Lookup is powered by a local JSON snapshot of the ATT&CK framework (Enterprise Matrix), parsed at runtime with support for fuzzy searching and clean terminal formatting. No internet required.

What It Does

The MITRE_lookup tool lets you:

  • Search by Technique ID (e.g., T1027, T1566.001)
  • Search by topic or keyword (e.g., ‘RDP’, ‘Wizard Spider’)
  • Get tactic category, platforms, and detection guidance
  • Optionally include expanded content with the –full flag
  • Use from the CLI, MalChela launcher, or GUI modal

Example:

$ ./target/release/MITRE_lookup -- T1059.003

T1059.003 - Windows Command Shell

Tactic(s): execution

Platforms: Windows

Detection: Usage of the Windows command shell may be common on administrator, developer, or power user systems depending on job function. If scripting is restricted for normal users, then any attempt to enable scripts running on a system would be considered suspicious. If scripts are not commonly used on a system, but enabled, scripts running out of cycle from patching or other administrator functions are suspicious. Scripts should be captured from the file system when possible to determine their actions and intent...
MITRE Lookup (CLI)

GUI Integration

  • Select MITRE Lookup in the left-hand Toolbox menu
  • Use the input field at the top of the modal to enter a keyword or technique ID (e.g., `T1059` or `registry`)
  • Use the “Full” checkbox for un-truncated output
  • “Save to Case” option

Saving for Later

You can save MITRE Lookup results directly from the GUI, either as a standalone markdown file to a designated folder, or into the active Case Notes panel for later reference. This makes it easy to preserve investigative context, cite specific TTPs in reports, or build a threat narrative across multiple tools. The saved output uses clean Markdown formatting — readable in any editor or compatible with case management platforms. This feature is already live in v3.0.2 and will evolve further with upcoming case linkage support.

Markdown view of a MITRE_lookup report

Why MITRE ATT&CK in MalChela?

MalChela already focuses on contextual forensics — understanding not just what an artifact is, but why it matters. By embedding MITRE ATT&CK into your daily toolchain:

  • You reduce pivot fatigue from switching between tools/web tabs
  • You boost investigation speed during triage and reporting
  • You enable a more threat-informed analysis process

Whether you’re tagging findings, crafting YARA rules, or writing case notes, the MITRE integration helps turn technical output into meaningful insight — all from within the MalChela environment.

Toby-Find: Simplifying Command-Line Forensics Tools

DFIR, Forensics, Malware, Memory Analysis, Raspberry Pi, Triage

In digital forensics, we often take a toolbox approach — success hinges on having the right tool for the job. Some tools offer broad functionality, while others are deeply specialized. Distributions like KALI and REMnux do a fantastic job bundling a wide range of forensic and security tools, but keeping track of what’s actually installed can be a challenge.

If you’re using a graphical interface, browsing through available packages is fairly intuitive. But when you’re living in the terminal — as many analysts do — that discoverability disappears. There’s no built-in index of command-line tools or how to invoke them.

The first version of Toby-Find was born out of necessity. I teach a Network Forensics course at the university, using a custom VM loaded with tools like Zeek, Tshark, Suricata, and more. I wanted students to have an easy, searchable way to see what CLI tools were available and how to run them — without needing to memorize commands or dig through man pages.

Later, when I built Toby (a forensic-focused Raspberry Pi rig running a customized KALI install), I updated Toby-Find to include the complete CLI toolset geared toward forensics and malware analysis from the KALI ecosystem.

And because I can’t leave well enough alone, I decided to build a REMnux-compatible version too.

⸻

Once installed, you can launch Toby-Find (via tf, toby-find, or tf-help) from any terminal and instantly search for tools, descriptions, examples, and more.

Toby-Find on REMnux
Toby-Find on Kali

⸻

📦 Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/dwmetz/Toby.git

2. Make the install script executable:

cd Toby
chmod +x install.sh

3. Run the installer:

./install.sh

4. Follow the prompt to choose your environment (KALI or REMnux)
5. Open a new terminal or run:

source ~/.bashrc   # or ~/.zshrc depending on shell

🚀 Usage

tf [keyword]

Examples:

tf yara
tf volatility
tf hash

To view the full list:

tf-help

Whether you’re working from a custom VM, a rugged Pi, or a hardened REMnux box, Toby-Find gives you a fast, terminal-friendly way to surface the tools at your disposal — without breaking focus. It’s lightweight, portable, and easy to extend for your own lab or classroom.

You can grab the full installer from GitHub, and contributions are always welcome. If you find it helpful — or build on it — I’d love to hear about it.

Sharper Strings and Smarter Signals: MalChela 3.0.1

DFIR, Forensics, Malware, Rust, Triage

It’s a strange but satisfying feeling to hit version 3.0, then realize soon after you’re already back in the weeds fixing, refining, and optimizing. That’s what this 3.0.1 release is all about — a tight round of updates aimed at boosting clarity and cutting noise, especially when running mStrings or working within the FileMiner panel. Additionally, a number of optimizations came about in getting MalChela to run smoothly on Toby, and to minimize any unnecessary re-building of the binaries. This post walks through what’s new and improved.

🧠 Smarter Detections in mStrings

The mstrings tool — one of the most feature-rich in the toolkit — got a round of refinements:

  • Generic Executable detection removed: This was too noisy and matched a lot of clean files. It’s been replaced by more focused patterns.
  • Suspicious DLLs now detected more precisely: Legit Windows DLLs like ole32.dll and gdiplus.dll are now excluded unless they’re paired with indicators like GetProcAddress, LoadLibrary, or manual syscall patterns.
  • Rule cleanup and expansion: Several detections were removed, refined, or added (like packer stubs and dropper markers) to better target actual malicious behavior.
  • Tighter MITRE mapping: Each detection is now carefully aligned to a corresponding MITRE ATT&CK technique, often down to the sub-technique level.

If you’ve ever run mstrings and felt unsure which hits mattered most — or got buried in generic noise — this update should feel much cleaner.

Reminder: You can easily update the detection criteria by modifying detections.yaml.

Have a detection to contribute to the project? Submit a pull request.

🔍 Built-In MITRE Lookup (GUI)

If a detection shows a MITRE ID like T1082, you can now look it up directly inside the GUI. The new MITRE Lookup Bar sits at the top of the config panel (only when running mstrings). Paste a technique ID, hit Lookup, and it’ll open the official MITRE ATT&CK page in your browser.

🗂️ FileMiner Improvements

The FileMiner GUI panel saw some polish too:

  • “Select All” functionality: You can now batch-run tools across multiple matching files in a case — a huge time-saver during triage.

🧰 Build and Setup Updates

Two quick notes for folks cloning the repo for the first time:

  • The release.sh script now builds all binaries in release mode — one command to build everything cleanly.
  • Docs and README were updated to recommend building in –release mode from the start, especially for smoother GUI usage.

🧪 Platform Testing

Confirmed functional on:

  • macOS (Silicon)
  • Ubuntu (Desktop and minimal)
  • REMnux (custom REMnux tools.yaml)
  • Raspberry Pi (Zero 2W and 4B)
  • Windows via WSL (CLI)

Still some quirks with native Windows support due to YARA compatibility and pathing, but if you’re a Windows power user and want to pitch in, I’d love your help.

💭 Final Thoughts

MalChela isn’t trying to replace your favorite tools — it’s trying to bundle them in ways that save time, reveal context, and give you clarity during analysis. The 3.0.1 release doesn’t bring sweeping new features, but it does make the experience tighter, more predictable, and more useful where it counts.

As always, thanks to those who’ve tested it, given feedback, or just watched quietly from the shadows. 🕵️‍♂️ If you want to contribute — whether it’s rules, regex, docs, or bugs — you’ll find me at dwmetz/MalChela.

Happy hunting.