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BKDR_NANOCORE.Q

June 28, 2016
 Analysis by: Cris Nowell Pantanilla
 PLATFORM:

Windows

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 DAMAGE POTENTIAL:
 DISTRIBUTION POTENTIAL:
 REPORTED INFECTION:
 INFORMATION EXPOSURE:

  • Threat Type: Backdoor

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

This backdoor arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

576,512 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

13 May 2016

Arrival Details

This backdoor arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users.

Installation

This backdoor drops the following copies of itself into the affected system and executes them:

  • %Application Data%\Intel(R)\Intel(R).exe

(Note: %Application Data% is the Application Data folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

Autostart Technique

This backdoor adds the following registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Intel(R) HDD Graphics = %Application Data%\Intel(R)\Intel(R).exe

Other Details

This backdoor connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • http://{BLOCKED}k.{BLOCKED}p.org/

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.800

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

12.524.04

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

13 May 2016

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

12.525.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

14 May 2016

Step 1

Before doing any scans, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.

Step 2

Identify and terminate files detected as BKDR_NANOCORE.Q

[ Learn More ]
  1. Windows Task Manager may not display all running processes. In this case, please use a third-party process viewer, preferably Process Explorer, to terminate the malware/grayware/spyware file. You may download the said tool here.
  2. If the detected file is displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer but you cannot delete it, restart your computer in safe mode. To do this, refer to this link for the complete steps.
  3. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

Step 3

Delete this registry value

[ Learn More ]

Important: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can lead to irreversible system malfunction. Please do this step only if you know how or you can ask assistance from your system administrator. Else, check this Microsoft article first before modifying your computer's registry.

 
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • Intel(R) HDD Graphics = "%Application Data%\Intel(R)\Intel(R).exe"

Step 4

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as BKDR_NANOCORE.Q. If the detected files have already been cleaned, deleted, or quarantined by your Trend Micro product, no further step is required. You may opt to simply delete the quarantined files. Please check this Knowledge Base page for more information.


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