WORM_PHORPIEX.C

 Analysis by: Francis Xavier Antazo

 ALIASES:

Trojan:Win32/Acbot.A (MICROSOFT), Win32/Injector.SDW trojan (NOD32)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

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

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

It connects to Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers. It joins an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

249,856 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

23 Jan 2015

Payload:

Compromises system security

Arrival Details

This worm arrives via removable drives.

It 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 worm adds the following folders:

  • %User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531
  • {Removable Drive}:\689342

(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.)

It drops the following copies of itself into the affected system and executes them:

  • %User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531\winmgr.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.)

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

  • x3h6d3c6x

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
Microsoft® Windows Manager = "%User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531\winmgr.exe"

Other System Modifications

This worm creates the following registry entry(ies) to bypass Windows Firewall:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\
FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\
List
%User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531\winmgr.exe = "%User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531\winmgr.exe:*:Enabled:Microsoft® Windows Manager"

Propagation

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

  • {Removable Drive}:\windsrcn.exe
  • {Removable Drive}:\689342\{Folder Names}.exe

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]
icon=%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll,4
action=Open folder to view files
shellexecute=windsrcn.exe
UseAutoPlay=1

Backdoor Routine

This worm connects to any of the following Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers:

  • {BLOCKED}v10.ru
  • {BLOCKED}v20.ru
  • {BLOCKED}30.ru

It joins any of the following Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels:

  • #32770

It accesses a remote Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server where it receives the following commands from a remote malicious user:

  • Propagate via Google Talk and/or ICQ
  • Download and execute arbitrary files
  • Perform Denial of Service attack (SYN flood)
  • Join other IRC channel
  • Uninstall itself

Download Routine

This worm saves the files it downloads using the following names:

  • %Application Data%\windrvconfig.txt

(Note: %Application Data% is the Application Data folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming 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.)

NOTES:

This worm creates .LNK (shortcut) files pointing to the copy of WORM_PHORPIEX.C named {Removable Drive}:\94728631\{Folder Names}.exe. {Folder Names} are the folder names found at the root of the removable drive, if there are any.

It then sets the attribute of the said folders to Hidden.

If the backdoor command - propagate via Google Talk and/or ICQ is executed, this worm checks if Google Talk and/or ICQ is installed on the affected machine. If found, it sends a message to all of the affected user's contacts with a message and a link to a copy of itself.

The message can be of different languages depending on the locale and system language of the affected machine. The message can be one of the following:

English:

  • tell me what you think of this picture i edited
  • this is the funniest photo ever!
  • tell me what you think of this photo
  • i don't think i will ever sleep again after seeing this photo
  • i cant believe i still have this picture
  • should i make this my default picture?

French:

  • je ne pense pas que je vais pouvoir dormir après avoir vu ces photos.
  • je n'arrive pas a croire que j'ai encore cette photo de toi depuis l'hiver dernier.
  • devrais-je mettre cette photo de profile?
  • c'est la photo la plus marrante!
  • dis moi ce que tu pense de cette photo de moi?
  • mes parents vont me tués si ils trouvent cette photo

Spanish:

  • creo que no voy a poder dormir má despues de ver esta foto. mirá
  • esta foto es gracios isima! que decis?
  • mis padres me van a matar si ven esta foto mia, que decis?
  • mira como saliste en esta foto jajaja

German:

  • wie findest du das foto?
  • hab ich dir das foto schon gezeigt?
  • das foto solltest du wirklich sehen
  • schau mal das foto an
  • so will ich nicht aussehen wenn ich alt bin
  • schau mal welches foto ich gefunden hab
  • bist du das auf dem foto?
  • kennst du das foto schon?

Dutch:

  • ken je dat foto nog?
  • kijk wat voor een foto ik heb gevonden
  • zo iets leilijk heb ik nog nooit in mijn leven gezien
  • ik hoop dat jij het net bent op dit foto
  • ben jij dat op dit foto?
  • dit foto zal je echt eens bekijken!
  • ken je dit foto al?

Romanian:

  • nu imi mai voi face niciodata poze!! toate ies urate ca asta.
  • spune-mi ce crezi despre poza asta.
  • asta e cea mai funny poza! tu ce zici?
  • zi-mi ce crezi despre poza asta?

Portugese

  • olhar para esta foto

Czech:

  • podivejte se na mou fotku

Danish:

  • ser pa dette billede

Hungarian

  • nezd meg a kepet

Norwegian

  • se pa dette bildet

Finnish

  • katso tata kuvaa

Swedish

  • titta pa denna bild

Bosnian

  • pogled na ovu sliku

Turkish

  • bu resmi bakmak

Slovak

  • pozri sa na tento obrazok

Slovenian

  • pogled na to sliko

Estonian

  • vaata seda pilti

Polish

  • spojrzec na to zdjecie

Italian:

  • ti piace la foto?
  • hai visto questa foto?
  • la foto e grandiosa!
  • ti ricordi la Foto?
  • conosci la persona in questa foto?
  • chi e in questa foto?

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.700

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

11.474.07

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

23 Jan 2015

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

11.475.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

24 Jan 2015

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_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • Microsoft® Windows Manager = "%User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531\winmgr.exe"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\List
    • %User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531\winmgr.exe = "%User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531\winmgr.exe:*:Enabled:Microsoft® Windows Manager"

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.
  • %User Profile%\M-10-5364-2978-7531
  • {Removable Drive}:\689342

Step 6

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.
  • %Application Data%\windrvconfig.txt

Step 7

Search and delete AUTORUN.INF files created by WORM_PHORPIEX.C that contain these strings

[ Learn More ]
[autorun]
icon=%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll,4
action=Open folder to view files
shellexecute=windsrcn.exe
UseAutoPlay=1

Step 8

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

NOTES:

Delete all the created {Folder Names}.LNK files in the removable drives.


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