WORM_UTOTI.AUS


 ALIASES:

Trojan.Win32.Autoit.acj (Kaspersky), Worm:AutoIt/Drathmot.A (Microsoft), W32.Harakit (Symantec), Win32/Autoit.EP.Gen (ESET-NOD32)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

 OVERALL RISK RATING:
 REPORTED INFECTION:

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Propagates via removable drives

This worm arrives via removable drives.

It uses Windows Task Scheduler to create a scheduled task that executes the dropped copy.

It drops copies of itself in removable drives. These dropped copies use the names of the folders located on the said drives for their file names.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

17,619,64 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

13 Dec 2016

Arrival Details

This worm arrives via removable drives.

It may arrive via network shares.

Installation

This worm drops the following files:

  • %Windows%\Tasks\At1.job ← Scheduled Task

(Note: %Windows% is the Windows folder, where it usually is C:\Windows on all Windows operating system versions.)

It drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %User Temp%\deathDrive.exe
  • %Windows%\ rundll32.exe
  • %System%\deathDrive.ddrv

(Note: %User Temp% is the user's temporary folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp 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.. %Windows% is the Windows folder, where it usually is C:\Windows on all Windows operating system versions.. %System% is the Windows system folder, where it usually is C:\Windows\System32 on all Windows operating system versions.)

It uses Windows Task Scheduler to create a scheduled task that executes the dropped copy.

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\Run
Yahoo Messengger = "%System%\ rundll32.exe"

Other System Modifications

This worm adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
system
DisableRegistryTools = 1

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
system
ConfirmFileDelete = 0

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
system
DisableTaskMgr = 0

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer
NoFind = 1

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer
NoFolderOptions = 1

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer
NoWelcomeScreen = 1

It modifies the following registry entries:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.docx
(Default) = "corrupted document"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is "Word.Document.12".)

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp3
(Default) = "Application"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is "mp3file".)

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx
(Default) = "corrupted document"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is "Excel.Sheet.12".)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
OriginalWallpaper = "%Windows%\doom.jpg"

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

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

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced
HideFileExt = 1

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is 0.)

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

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer
NoDriveTypeAutoRun = 1

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is 91.)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Shell = "Explorer.exe rundll32.exe"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is "Explorer.exe".)

Propagation

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

  • New Song.exe

It drops copies of itself in removable drives. These dropped copies use the names of the folders located on the said drives for their file names.

It uses the following file names for the copies it drops into shared networks:

  • Workgroup Documents.exe

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.800

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 WORM_UTOTI.AUS

[ 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_CLASSES_ROOT\.ddrv
    • (Default) = "exefile"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
    • ConvertedWallpaper = "%Windows%\doom.jpg"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\WorkgroupCrawler\Shares
    • shared = "\Workgroup Documents.exe"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system
    • DisableRegistryTools = 1
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system
    • ConfirmFileDelete = 0
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system
    • DisableTaskMgr = 0
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    • NoFind = 1
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    • NoFolderOptions = 1
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    • NoWelcomeScreen = 1
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • Yahoo Messengger = "%System%\ rundll32.exe"

Step 4

Restore this modified 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_CLASSES_ROOT\.docx
    • From: (Default) = "corrupted document"
      To: (Default) = "Word.Document.12"
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mp3
    • From: (Default) = "Application"
      To: (Default) = "mp3file"
  • In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.xlsx
    • From: (Default) = "corrupted document"
      To: (Default) = "Excel.Sheet.12"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
    • From: OriginalWallpaper = "%Windows%\doom.jpg"
      To: OriginalWallpaper = ""
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
    • From: Hidden = dword:00000002
      To: Hidden = dword:00000001
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
    • From: HideFileExt = dword:00000001
      To: HideFileExt = dword:00000000
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
    • From: ShowSuperHidden = dword:00000000
      To: ShowSuperHidden = dword:00000001
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    • From: NoDriveTypeAutoRun = dword:00000001
      To: NoDriveTypeAutoRun = dword:00000091
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    • From: Shell = "Explorer.exe  rundll32.exe"
      To: Shell = "Explorer.exe"

Step 5

Search and delete this file

[ Learn More ]
There may be some files that are hidden. Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the "More advanced options" option to include all hidden files and folders in the search result. %Windows%\Tasks\At1.job

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as WORM_UTOTI.AUS. 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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