APT / THREAT GROUP

RunForestRun

aliases

Last seen:Mar 17, 2026

Intelligence Profile

Active around 2012-2013, this family deployed small JavaScript snippets on infected websites to load exploit kit scripts from DGA-generated domains.

It commonly used the Blackhole exploit kit and the Sutra Traffic Distribution System (TDS), which caused it to sometimes be misnamed as Blackhole or Sutra.

Threat Analysis

RunForestRun is a known-sophistication threat actor of undetermined national origin, engaged in cyber operations with a primary motivation of unknown activity patterns.

External References

→https://blog.malwaremustdie.org/2012/10/fuzzy-in-manual-cracking-of.html

→https://blog.malwaremustdie.org/2013/11/runforrestrun-dga-is-alive-at.html

→https://github.com/unixfreaxjp/malwaremustdie/blob/6f69c8e4a55335b6b60a23785e98087b605ddceb/wiki/old/DGA_Research_Tips.md

→https://malware.dontneedcoffee.com/2012/12/eyeglanceru.html

→https://securelist.com/runforestrun-gootkit-and-random-domain-name-generation/57865/

Quick Facts

TypeAPT / Threat Group

Aliases4

Also Known As

js.runforestrunSutraRunForestRunBlackhole

External Intelligence

Malpedia: js.runforestrun

Research Links

MITRE ATT&CK VirusTotal Google (news) Twitter/X search

Data sourced from Malpedia, Ransomware.live, RansomLook, and CTIWATCH OSINT collection. Actor attribution is based on available intelligence and may be incomplete.

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