Malware › Module 10 › Lesson 2
Lab Path
Analysis path diagram for YOUR $MAL_LAB sample — static to dynamic to net/proc to IOC report with ethics gates.
Visual · t22_lab_path
Lab path = visual analysis chain on legal sample. Original Cyberlium.
Opening
Draw the path you actually walked — from hash verify to share-safe export, with ethics stops at every gate.
Document malware analysis path from sample intake through capstone: legal chain verify → static triage hash/strings/YARA → $MAL_LAB hygiene → dynamic detonate observe revert → net/proc merge → IOC table and report → share safely export. Mark ethics gates: hash match, never daily driver, no weaponize, no live sample share. Include UTC milestones and artifact IDs cross-linked to modules. No fictional stranger breach path, no weaponization branch, no host OS shortcut lane. Mermaid or sketch chmod 600 in private notes. Honest literacy-only segments valid if brief restricted dynamic — label N/A not fiction.
1. Path elements
Intake, static, dynamic, net/proc, IOC/report, share export — six stations minimum.
Each station links evidence index row and module lesson ID.
Command guide
Try these commands — Path elements
═══ TOOLS & WEBSITES ═══ Browse / read these (authorized learning only — stay in YOUR lab / program scope)
Static capstone — https://yara.readthedocs.io/en/stable/ (hash + strings + rules) Microsoft PE — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/debug/pe-format
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): Built-in (binutils)
Command — copy this
sudo apt install openssl
macOS: Built-in
Windows: Use WSL or install binutils
Command — copy this
choco install openssl
═══ LINUX / macOS ═══
Command — copy this
source "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t22-mal/lab.env" 2>/dev/null || export LAB_MAL=$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t22-mal openssl dgst -sha256 "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t22-mal/samples/eicar.com.txt" strings "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t22-mal/samples/eicar.com.txt" | grep -i eicar strings "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t22-mal/samples/demo_toy.py" | head -5
Primary tools to practice this lesson: strings, openssl. Reference sites: Static capstone (https://yara.readthedocs.io/en/stable/); Microsoft PE (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/debug/pe-format). Run every command in the box — install first, then the usage lines — only on YOUR lab / program scope.
2. Ethics overlay
Red stop icons at: undocumented sample, host OS, weaponize request, casual live share — refused paths labeled.
Revert checkpoint after dynamic — mandatory node on diagram.
3. Defender breakpoint
Mark where blue would block: hash denylist, DNS block, process kill chain — purple literacy.
One paragraph: detection uplift from YOUR path on $MAL_LAB bench.
4. What you ship: lab path diagram
Analysis path with ethics gates + UTC milestones — chmod 600.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Lab path diagram path.
6. Wrong vs right: live malware on daily driver vs sandbox
Worked failure — same MSF word, opposite target. Right never needs a café Wi-Fi or classmate laptop.
Wrong
Draw path including host OS detonation and builder step.
Right
Lab path documented for $MAL_LAB sample. Next: Evidence Pack.
Mission: lab path diagram
1) Map six analysis stations. 2) Add four ethics gates. 3) UTC milestones per station. 4) Link evidence index IDs.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
Ask Mentor: “Diagram vs numbered list for capstone?”
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Lab path documents:
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: Host OS lane belongs on path.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Path must include:
Multiple choice