WORM_VBNA.SMTB


 ALIASES:

Worm:Win32/Vobfus.gen!E (Microsoft), W32.Changeup.C (Symantec), Worm.Win32.VBNA.b (Kaspersky), Win32/AutoRun.VB.ZJ worm (Nod32), W32/VBNA.B!worm (Fortinet)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Propagates via removable drives, Propagates via network drives

This worm is not capable of exploiting any known vulnerability on the system.

This worm arrives via removable drives. It may be downloaded by other malware/grayware/spyware from remote sites. It may be dropped by other malware.

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

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

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

319,488 bytes

File Type:

PE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

14 Jan 2011

Payload:

Hides files with certain attributes; Downloads files; Steals information

Arrival Details

This worm arrives via removable drives.

It may be downloaded by other malware/grayware/spyware from remote sites.

It may be dropped by other malware.

Installation

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

  • %User Profile%\{random file name}.exe

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name} on Windows Vista and 7.)

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
{random file name} = %User Profile%\{random file name}.exe /{random character}

Other System Modifications

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

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

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

Propagation

This worm drops copies of itself into network drives.

It drops copies of itself in all removable drives.

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:

{garbage characters}
[AutoRun]
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
actiON=View Files
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
shellexecute={random file name}.exe
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
IcoN=%System Root%\system32\ShELL32.dlL,4
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
UsEAutOplAY=1
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}

(Note: %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.)

Other Details

This worm does the following:

  • 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. In addition, it also uses the following names:
    • Documents.lnk
    • Music.lnk
    • New Folder.lnk
    • Passwords.lnk
    • Pictures.lnk
    • Video.lnk
    Note that these .LNK files bear the icon of a normal Windows folder in order to trick users into clicking them. This action, in turn, executes more copies of this worm.
  • Modifies dropped copies of itself
  • Drops AUTORUN.INF files into network drives
  • Attempts to connect to ns1.{BLOCKED}1253.com via port 8000 to possibly inform remote attackers of the infection and to receive commands from them, which may lead to information theft or download of other files that can be malicious. As of this writing, however, the said site is inaccessible.

NOTES:
This worm is not capable of exploiting any known vulnerability on the system.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

8.900

VSAPI PATTERN File:

7.824.02

VSAPI PATTERN Date:

09 Feb 2011

VSAPI PATTERN Date:

2/9/2011 12:00:00 AM

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

7.768.06

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

14 Jan 2011

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

Terminate a process file/s detected as WORM_VBNA.SMTB

[ 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\Run
    • {random file name} = %User Profile%\{random file name}.exe /{random character}

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_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
    • From: ShowSuperHidden = 0
      To: ShowSuperHidden = 1

Step 5

Search and delete AUTORUN.INF files created by WORM_VBNA.SMTB that contain these strings

[ Learn More ]

{garbage characters}
[AutoRun]
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
actiON=View Files
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
shellexecute={random file name}.exe
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
IcoN=%System Root%\system32\ShELL32.dlL,4
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
UsEAutOplAY=1
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}
{garbage characters}

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as WORM_VBNA.SMTB. 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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