arrow_back
search
close

WORM_AUTORUN.HBW

October 08, 2012
 ALIASES:

Microsoft : Worm:Win32/Autorun.VW

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Propagates via removable drives

This worm arrives via removable drives.

It drops copies of itself into all the removable drives connected to an affected system. It drops an AUTORUN.INF file to automatically execute the copies it drops when a user accesses the drives of an affected system.

It listens on ports. It connects to a website to send and receive information.

It deletes itself after execution.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

23,040 bytes

File Type:

PE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

02 Feb 2011

Payload:

Compromises system security

Arrival Details

This worm arrives via removable drives.

Installation

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

  • %System%\phqghu.exe

(Note: %System% is the Windows system folder, which is usually C:\Windows\System on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\System32 on Windows NT and 2000, or C:\Windows\System32 on Windows XP and Server 2003.)

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer\Run
phqghu.exe = "%System%\phqghu.exe"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
phqghu.exe = "%System%\phqghu.exe"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\
Explorer\Run
phqghu.exe = "%System%\phqghu.exe"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
phqghu.exe = "%System%\phqghu.exe"

Propagation

This worm drops copies of itself into all the removable drives connected to an affected system.

It drops an AUTORUN.INF file to automatically execute the copies it drops when a user accesses the drives of an affected system.

The said .INF file contains the following strings:

[Autorun]
ShellExecute=usbrun.exe
Action=Open folder to view files
Shell\Open\Command=usbrun.exe
Shell\Explore\Command=usbrun.exe

Backdoor Routine

This worm listens on the following port(s):

  • TCP 3545

It connects to the following websites to send and receive information:

  • {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.254.192

Other Details

This worm deletes itself after execution.

NOTES:
This worm drops .LNK files that reference a copy of itself in removable drives. These dropped files use the names of the folders and files located on the said drive for their filenames. It then hides the original folders and files to further fool the users.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

8.900

VSAPI PATTERN File:

7.808.11

VSAPI PATTERN Date:

02 Feb 2011

VSAPI PATTERN Date:

2/2/2011 12:00:00 AM

Step 1

For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users, before doing any scans, please make sure you disable System Restore to allow full scanning of your computer.

Step 2

Terminate a process file/s detected as WORM_AUTORUN.HBW

[ Learn More ]

*Note: If the detected file/s is/are not displayed in theWindows Task Manager, 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\Policies\Explorer\Run
    • phqghu.exe = %System%\phqghu.exe
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • phqghu.exe = %System%\phqghu.exe
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\Run
    • phqghu.exe = %System%\phqghu.exe
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • phqghu.exe = %System%\phqghu.exe

Step 4

Search and delete AUTORUN.INF files created by WORM_AUTORUN.HBW that contain these strings

[ Learn More ]
[Autorun]
ShellExecute=usbrun.exe
Action=Open folder to view files
Shell\Open\Command=usbrun.exe
Shell\Explore\Command=usbrun.exe

Step 5

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as WORM_AUTORUN.HBW. 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.


Did this description help? Tell us how we did.