JS_BONDAT.GGQN

 Analysis by: Nikko Tamana

 ALIASES:

Worm.JS.Bondat.Y (Bitdefender), Worm.JS.Bondat (Ikarus), Worm:JS/Bondat.D (Microsoft), JS/Bondat.AN worm (NOD32)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

This Worm arrives via removable drives. It arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

It modifies registry entries to hide files with System and Read-only attributes.

It modifies the Internet Explorer Zone Settings.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

98,304 bytes

File Type:

JS

Initial Samples Received Date:

14 Sep 2017

Arrival Details

This Worm arrives via removable drives.

It arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

Installation

This Worm drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %Application Data%\{random folder name}\{random file name 1}.js

(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.)

It drops the following files:

  • %Application Data%\{random folder name}\{random file name 3}
  • %Application Data%\{random folder name}\{random file name 4}
  • %Application Data%\{random folder name}\{random file name 5}
  • %Application Data%\{random folder name}\{random file name 6}
  • %Application Data%\{random folder name}\{random file name 7}
  • {Removable Drive Letter}:\Drive.bat

(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.)

It drops and executes the following files:

  • %Application Data%\{random folder name}\{random file name 2}.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 Worm drops the following shortcut pointing to its copy in the User Startup folder to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

  • %User Startup%\Start.lnk

(Note: %User Startup% is the current user's Startup folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 2000 and XP, and C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.)

It drops the following file(s) in the Windows Startup folder to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

  • %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\Start.lnk

(Note: %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in 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.)

It drops the following file(s) in the Windows Common Startup folder to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

  • %All Users Profile%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\Start.lnk

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the All Users folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData 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.)

Other System Modifications

This Worm modifies the following registry entries to hide files with System and Read-only attributes:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced
ShowSuperHidden = 0

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is 1.)

It modifies the following registry entries to hide files with Hidden attributes:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced
Hidden = 2

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is 1.)

Propagation

This Worm creates the following folders in all removable drives:

  • {Removable Drive Letter}:\Drive
  • {Removable Drive Letter}:\Drive\{random numbers}

It drops the following copy(ies) of itself in all removable drives:

  • {Removable Drive Letter}:\Drive\{random numbers}\{random file name 8}.js

It creates shortcut files (.LNK) disguised as folders or files located on the affected drives pointing to the malware copy.

Web Browser Home Page and Search Page Modification

This Worm modifies the Internet Explorer Zone Settings.

Other Details

This Worm connects to the following URL(s) to check for an Internet connection:

  • www.microsoft.com

It connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • 95.15{BLOCKED}1.18
  • bellsys{BLOCKED}.com

NOTES:
It drops .LNK files whose names correspond to the files and folders in the root directory of the removable drive then hides the original files and folders to trick users. When the .LNK files are double clicked, the dropped copy in {Removable Drive Letter}:\Drive\{random numbers} is executed.