TROJ_HEPERBOT.SM

September 08, 2014
 Analysis by: RonJay Kristoffer Caragay
 ALIASES:

Win32/Spy.Hesperbot.N (ESET-NOD32); Trojan.Win32.Hesperbot.bN (Baidu-International);

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)

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

  • Threat Type: Trojan

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

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

It is injected into all running processes to remain memory resident.

It does not have any propagation routine.

It does not have any backdoor routine.

It connects to certain websites to send and receive information.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

221,184 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

03 Sep 2014

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs, Drops files

Arrival Details

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

  • %Windows%\{random foldername}\{random filename}.exe ← detected also as TROJ_HEPERBOT.SM

(Note: %Windows% is the Windows folder, which is usually C:\Windows.)

It adds the following processes:

  • attrib.exe
  • explorer.exe

It is injected into all running processes to remain memory resident.

It adds the following mutexes to ensure that only one of its copies runs at any one time:

  • Global\lock_{random characters}
  • Global\inst_{random characters}
  • Global\{random characters}.mutex
  • Global\{random characters}

It is injected into the following processes running in memory:

  • created attrib.exe
  • created explorer.exe

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
{random name} = "%Windows%\{random foldername}\{random filename}.exe"

Propagation

This Trojan does not have any propagation routine.

Backdoor Routine

This Trojan does not have any backdoor routine.

Dropping Routine

This Trojan drops the following files:

  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\Sun\{random characters}.bkp ← encrypted file
  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}\{random characters}.dat ← encrypted file

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the All Users or Common profile folder, which is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users in Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, and C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista and 7.)

Information Theft

This Trojan gathers the following data:

  • Computer name
  • System install date
  • System Version
  • Processor information
  • Machine GUID
  • Digital Product ID

Other Details

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

  • microsoft.com
  • facebook.com
  • wikipedia.org
  • google.com
  • yahoo.com

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

  • {BLOCKED}show.su

NOTES:

It checks if the following files exists in the system before injecting its code:

  • %System%\drivers\cmdguard.sys
  • %System%\drivers\klif.sys

This trojan injects its code through different methods depending on the existence of the said files.

It does not have rootkit capabilities.

It does not exploit any vulnerability.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.700

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

11.123.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

01 Sep 2014

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

Note that not all files, folders, and registry keys and entries are installed on your computer during this malware's/spyware's/grayware's execution. This may be due to incomplete installation or other operating system conditions. If you do not find the same files/folders/registry information, please proceed to the next step.

Step 3

Restart in Safe Mode

[ Learn More ]

Step 4

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_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • {random name} = "%Windows%\{random foldername}\{random filename}.exe"

Step 5

Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as TROJ_HEPERBOT.SM. 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.

Step 6

The following created files/folders/registry keys/registry entries cannot be identified by the user since there are no reference values in the created key. The only way it can be identified is by comparing the present system information with a backup. Note that the said components do not have to be deleted since it won't be harmful to the system.

 
  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\Sun\{random characters}.bkp
  • %All Users Profile%\Application Data\{random folder name}\{random characters}.dat
  • %Windows%\{random foldername}


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