TrojanSpy.Win32.QAKBOT.YXDFVZ

August 10, 2023
 Analysis by: Raighen Sanchez
 ALIASES:

Trojan:Win32/QakBot.BA!MTB (MICROSOFT), UDS:Trojan-Banker.Multi.Qbot (KASPERSKY)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Trojan Spy

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

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

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

1,175,552 bytes

File Type:

DLL

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

25 Jul 2023

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs, Drops files

Arrival Details

This Trojan Spy 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 Spy drops a copy of itself in the following folders using different file names:

  • %Application Data%\Microsoft\{random folder name}\{random filename}.dll

(Note: %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)

It adds the following processes:

  • Depending on the number of AV products that was found to be running in the system and the machine architecture, it will inject itself to the following:
    • %System%\AtBroker.exe
    • %System%\backgroundTaskHost.exe
    • %System%\dxdiag.exe
    • %System%\wermgr.exe
  • whoami /all
  • cmd /c set
  • arp -a
  • ipconfig /all
  • net view /all
  • nslookup -querytype=ALL -timeout=10 _ldap._tcp.dc._msdcs.WORKGROUP
  • nltest /domain_trusts /all_trusts
  • net share
  • route print
  • netstat -nao
  • net localgroup
  • qwinsta

(Note: %System% is the Windows system folder, where it usually is C:\Windows\System32 on all Windows operating system versions.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %Application Data%\Microsoft\{random}

(Note: %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)

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

  • {GUID}

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
{7 random alphabet characters} = rundll32.exe "%Application Data%\Microsoft\{random folder name}\{random filename}.dll",more

Other System Modifications

This Trojan Spy adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
{random}
{8 random alphanumeric characters} = {hex values}

Information Theft

This Trojan Spy gathers the following data:

  • Computer Name
  • Installed Antivirus Products
  • IP address
  • Operating System Information
  • Processor Information
  • Running Processes
  • Username
  • Account Privileges
  • System Volume Information

It checks for the presence of the following processes:

  • anti-virus.EXE
  • apimonitor-x86.exe
  • BehaviorDumper.exe
  • capturenet.exe
  • CFF Explorer.exe
  • dumpcap.exe
  • ethereal.exe
  • ettercap.exe
  • FakeExplorer.exe
  • Fiddler.exe
  • filemon.exe
  • frida-winjector-helper-32.exe
  • frida-winjector-helper-64.exe
  • idaq.exe
  • idaq64.exe
  • ImportREC.exe
  • joeboxcontrol.exe
  • joeboxserver.exe
  • loaddll32.exe
  • LordPE.exe
  • not_rundll32.exe
  • packetcapture.exe
  • PETools.exe
  • proc_analyzer.exe
  • processdumperx64.exe
  • ProcessHacker.exe
  • procmon.exe
  • qak_proxy
  • ResourceHacker.exe
  • rtsniff.exe
  • sctoolswrapper.exe
  • sniff_hit.exe
  • sniff_hit.exe
  • sysAnalyzer.exe
  • sysAnalyzer.exe
  • sysinfoX64.exe
  • sysinfoX64.exe
  • SysInspector.exe
  • tcpdump.exe
  • tcpview.exe
  • windump.exe
  • wireshark.exe
  • x64dbg.exe

Stolen Information

This Trojan Spy sends the gathered information via HTTP POST to the following URL:

  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.223:1194/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.13:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.122:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.174:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.202:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.190:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:21/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.109:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.208:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.230:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.148:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.235:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:32101/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.60:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.28:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.105:443/t5.
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.48:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.131:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.37:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.233:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.134:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:2087/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.188:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.220:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.42:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.42:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.223:2078/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.21:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.59:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.150:50000/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.11:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.114:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.86:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.95:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.187:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.165:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.183:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.254:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.63:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.50:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.162:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.46:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.142:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.102:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.254:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.50:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.237:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.39:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.102:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.160:32103/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.156:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.244:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.138:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.5:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.50:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.100:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.112:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.68:32100/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.137:3389/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.89:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.52:2078/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.205:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.220:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.84:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.7:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.16:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.154:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.219:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.226:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.244:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.59:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.213:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:22/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.133:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.12:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.132:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.67:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.223:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.9:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.183:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.236:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.72:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.130:995/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.253:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.27:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.170:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.103:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.80:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.174:2083/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.35:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.203:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.4:50000/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.223:3389/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.30:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.134:3389/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.191:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.165:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.107:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.223:32100/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.126:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.8:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.81:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.74:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.236:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.89:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.196:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.99:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.3:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.107:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.26:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:993/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.3:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.213:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.95:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.20:2222/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:20/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.198:32100/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.146:443/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:50001/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.82:465/t5
  • http://{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.102:443/t5

Other Details

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

  • https://microsoft.com
  • https://google.com
  • https://cisco.com
  • https://oracle.com
  • https://verisign.com
  • https://broadcom:.com
  • https://yahoo.com
  • https://xfinity.com
  • https://irs.gov
  • https://linkedin.com
  • https://ctldl.windowsupdate.com

It does the following:

  • It checks the presence of the following Anti-Virus and Security Applications in the affected system:
    • afwServ.exe
    • AppUIMonitor.exe
    • aswEngSrv.exe
    • aswidsagent.exe
    • aswToolsSvc.exe
    • AvastSvc.exe
    • AvastUI.exe
    • avgcsrva.exe
    • avgcsrvx.exe
    • avgsvcx.exe
    • avp.exe
    • bdagent.exe
    • ByteFence.exe
    • ccSvcHst.exe
    • cmdagent.exe
    • coreServiceShell.exe
    • CrAmTray.exe
    • csc_ui.exe
    • CSFalconContainer.exe
    • CSFalconService.exe
    • CynetConsole.exe
    • CynetEPS.exe
    • CynetMS.exe
    • dwarkdaemon.exe
    • dwengine.exe
    • dwwatcher.exe
    • egui.exe
    • ekrn.exe
    • fmon.exe
    • fshoster32.exe
    • isesrv.exe
    • kavtray.exe
    • mbamgui.exe
    • MBAMService.exe
    • mcshield.exe
    • MsMpEng.exe
    • NortonSecurity.exe
    • nsWscSvc.exe
    • NTRTScan.exe
    • PccNTMon.exe
    • RepUx.exe
    • SAVAdminService.exe
    • SavService.exe
    • SentinelAgent.exe
    • SentinelServiceHost.exe
    • SentinelStaticEngine.exe
    • SentinelStaticEngineScanner.exe
    • SentinelUI.exe
    • Sophos UI.exe
    • SophosUI.exe
    • vkise.exe
    • vsserv.exe
    • vsservppl.exe
    • WRSA.exe
    • xagtnotif.exe
  • It stores its encrypted configuration in the registry key that it creates.
  • It attempts to create a pipe for communication.
  • It deletes files with the following extension:
    • .cfg

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.800

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

18.523.00

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

21 Jun 2023

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

18.523.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

22 Jun 2023

Step 1

Trend Micro Predictive Machine Learning detects and blocks malware at the first sign of its existence, before it executes on your system. When enabled, your Trend Micro product detects this malware under the following machine learning name:

    • TSPY.Win32.TRX.XXPE50FFF070E0002

Step 2

Before doing any scans, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.

Step 3

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 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_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\{7 random alphabet characters}

Step 5

Search and delete these folders

[ Learn More ]
Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the More advanced options option to include all hidden folders in the search result.
  • C:\Users\dyituser_732\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\{random}

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as TrojanSpy.Win32.QAKBOT.YXDFVZ. 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 the following Trend Micro Support pages for more information:


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