WORM_PROLACO.EK

This worm arrives as attachment to mass-mailed email messages. It arrives via removable drives.

It adds registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup.

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

It also has rootkit capabilities, which enables it to hide its processes and files from the user.

It modifies the affected system's HOSTS files. This prevents users from accessing certain websites.

Arrival Details

This worm arrives as attachment to mass-mailed email messages.

It arrives via removable drives.

It may arrive via network shares.

Installation

This worm drops and executes the following files:

• %System%\sta-css.exe - TROJ_HILOTI.SMEO
• %System%\sta-cpe.exe - TROJ_FAKEAV.EKA

(Note: %System% is the Windows system folder, which is usually C:\Windows\System on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\System32 on Windows NT and 2000, or C:\Windows\System32 on Windows XP and Server 2003.)

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

• %System%\PCSuite.exe

(Note: %System% is the Windows system folder, which is usually C:\Windows\System on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\System32 on Windows NT and 2000, or C:\Windows\System32 on Windows XP and Server 2003.)

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

• PCSuite.exe{random characters}

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
Nokia Launch Application = %System%\PCSuite.exe

Other System Modifications

This worm adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Nokia4

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Nokia4

It adds the following registry entries as part of its installation routine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
nok01 = {month of execution}

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
nok02 = {day of execution}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Security Center
UACDisableNotify = 1

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\
system
EnableLUA = 0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\
FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\
List
%System%\PCSuite.exe = %System%\PCSuite.exe:*:Enabled:Explorer

Propagation

This worm creates the following folders in all removable drives:

• [dirve letter]:\RECYCLER
• [dirve letter]:\RECYCLER\S-1-6-21-2434476521-1645641927-702000330-1542

It drops copies of itself into the following folders used in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks:

• %User Profile%My Documents\Frostwire\shared
• %Program Files%\icq\shared folder\
• %Program Files%\grokster\my grokster\
• %Program Files%\emule\incoming\
• %Program Files%\morpheus\my shared folder\
• %Program Files%\limewire\shared\
• %Program Files%\tesla\files\
• %Program Files%\winmx\shared\
• %System Root%\Downloads\
• Kazaa Download Directory
• DC++ Download Directory

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name} on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name} on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.. %Program Files% is the default Program Files folder, usually C:\Program Files.. %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.)

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

• [dirve letter]:\RECYCLER\S-1-6-21-2434476521-1645641927-702000330-1542\redmond.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]
open=RECYCLER\S-1-6-21-2434476521-1645641927-702000330-1542\redmond.exe
icon=%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll,4
action=Open folder to view files
shell\open=Open
shell\open\command=RECYCLER\S-1-6-21-2434476521-1645641927-702000330-1542\redmond.exe
shell\open\default=1

It gathers target email addresses from files with the following extensions:

• ·txt
• ·htm
• ·xml
• ·php
• ·asp
• ·dbx
• ·log
• ·nfo
• ·lst
• ·wpd
• ·wps
• ·xls
• ·doc
• ·wab
• ·rtf

It avoids sending email messages to addresses containing the following strings:

• berkeley
• unix
• bsd
• mit.e
• gnu
• fsf.
• ibm.com
• debian
• kernel
• linux
• fido
• usenet
• iana
• ietf
• rfc-ed
• sendmail
• arin.
• sun.com
• isc.o
• secur
• acketst
• pgp
• apache
• gimp
• tanford.e
• utgers.ed
• mozilla
• firefox
• suse
• redhat
• sourceforge
• slashdot
• samba
• cisco
• syman
• panda
• avira
• f-secure
• sopho
• www.ca.com
• ahnlab
• novirusthanks
• prevx
• drweb
• bitdefender
• clamav
• eset.com
• ikarus
• mcafee
• kaspersky
• virusbuster
• badware
• immunityinc.com
• avg.comsysinternals
• borlan
• inpris
• lavasoft
• jgsoft
• ghisler.com
• wireshark
• winpcap
• acdnet.com
• acdsystems.com
• acd-group
• bpsoft.com
• buyrar.com
• bluewin.ch
• quebecor.com
• alcatel-lucent.com
• ssh.com
• winamp
• nullsoft.org
• example
• mydomai
• nodomai
• ruslis
• virus
• .gov
• gov.
• .mil
• messagelabs
• honeynet
• honeypot
• security
• idefense
• qualys
• root
• info
• samples
• postmaster
• webmaster
• noone
• nobody
• nothing
• anyone
• someone
• your
• you
• me
• bugs
• rating
• site
• contact
• soft
• no
• somebody
• privacy
• service
• help
• not
• submit
• sales
• ca
• gold-certs
• the.bat
• page
• admin
• icrosoft
• support
• ntivi
• unix
• bsd
• linux
• listserv
• websense
• certific
• security
• spam
• sp
• spam
• www
• secur
• abuse

Rootkit Capabilities

This worm also has rootkit capabilities, which enables it to hide its processes and files from the user.

Process Termination

This worm terminates the following services if found on the affected system:

• aswupdsv
• avast! Antivirus
• avast! Mail Scanner
• avast! Web Scanner
• avg8wd
• avg8emc
• antivirservice
• AntiVirSchedulerService
• XCOMM
• LIVESRV
• bdss
• scan
• VSSERV
• Arrakis3
• CaCCProvSP
• CSIScanner
• Emproxy
• McAfee HackerWatch Service
• MCNASVC
• MPFSERVICE
• MPS9
• mcpromg
• mcproxy
• mcshield
• mcredirector
• mcODS
• mcmscsvc
• msk80service
• mcsysmon
• mcmisupdmgr
• Ehttpsrv
• ekrn
• sdauxservice
• sdcodeservice
• ThreatFire
• sbamsvc
• FPAVServer
• RSCCenter
• RSRavMon
• K7EmlPxy
• K7RTScan
• K7TSMngr
• navapsvc
• npfmntor
• nscservice
• liveupdate
• Norton AntiVirus
• LiveUpdate Notice Service
• SAVScan
• Symantec Core
• ccEvtMgr
• sndsrvc
• ccprox
• ccpwdsvc
• ccsetmgr
• spbbcsvc
• MBAMService
• Savservice
• Savadminservice
• Sophos Autoupdate Service
• Sophos Agent
• Sophos Certification Manager
• Sophos Management Service
• Sophos Message Router
• PAVSVR
• PAVFNSVR
• GWMSRV
• PSHOST
• PSIMSVC
• PAVPRSRV
• PSKSVCRETAIL
• PANDA SOFTWARE CONTROLLER
• TPSRV
• WinDefend
• wscsvc
• ERSvc
• WerSvc
• AVP

It terminates the following processes if found running in the affected system's memory:

• mcvsshld.exe
• McProxy.exe
• mps.exe
• mcmscsvc.exe
• mcpromgr.exe
• McNASvc.exe
• mcagent.exe
• Mcshield.exe
• HWAPI.exe
• RedirSvc.exe
• emproxy.exe
• mcsysmon.exe
• mcods.exe
• MpfSrv.exe
• msksrver.exe
• mskagent.exe
• ccsvchst.exe
• PShost.exe
• TPSRV.exe
• avciman.exe
• APvxdwin.exe
• Pavbckpt.exe
• iface.exe
• PSCtrlS.exe
• PavFnSvr.exe
• prevx.exe
• PavPrSrv.exe
• PsIMSVC.exe
• psksvc.exe
• PAVSRV51.exe
• AVENGINE.exe
• Webproxy.exe
• SrvLoad.exe
• avgnt.exe
• guardgui.exe
• avcenter.exe
• avguard.exe
• avgwdsvc.exe
• avgrsx.exe
• avgtray.exe
• avgemc.exe
• avgcsrvx.exe
• avgui.exe
• xcommsvr.exe
• seccenter.exe
• bdss.exe
• bdagent.exe
• livesrv.exe
• ekrn.exe
• egui.exe
• sbamtray.exe
• sbamui.exe
• K7TSMngr.exe
• K7RTScan.exe
• K7EmlPxy.exe
• K7SysTry.exe
• K7TSecurity.exe
• drweb32w.exe
• drwebupw.exe
• spidergui.exe
• avp.exe
• avp.exe
• mbam.exe
• pccnt.exe
• NTRtScan.exe
• TmListen.exe
• FPWin.exe
• FprotTray.exe
• FPAVServer.exe
• SavService.exe
• SavMain.exe
• AlMon.exe
• SavAdminService.exe
• ALSvc.exe
• SbeConsole.exe
• Rav.exe
• RavTask.exe
• RavMon.exe
• RavmonD.exe
• RavStub.exe
• CCenter.exe
• isafe.exe
• vsserv.exe
• vetmsg.exe
• ashdisp.exe
• ashserv.exe

Dropping Routine

This worm sets the attributes of its dropped file(s) to the following:

• Hidden
• Read-Only
• System

HOSTS File Modification

This worm adds the following strings to the Windows HOSTS file:

• eset.com
• f-secure.com
• sophos.com
• virustotal.com
• hispasec.com
• mcafee.com
• mast.mcafee.com
• networkassociates.com
• download.mcafee.com
• dispatch.mcafee.com
• nai.com
• us.mcafee.com
• symantec.com
• securityresponse.symantec.com
• liveupdate.symantecliveupdate.com
• symantec.com
• liveupdate.symantec.com
• customer.symantec.com
• sophos.com
• viruslist.com
• avp.com
• kaspersky.com
• kaspersky-labs.com
• ca.com
• my-etrust.com
• trendmicro.com
• free-av.com
• authentium.com
• avg.com
• ewido.com
• grisoft.com
• global.ahnlab.com
• avast.com
• bitdefender.com
• quickheal.com
• aladdin.com
• ikarus-software.at
• pandasecurity.com
• virus-buster.com

Other Details

This worm connects to the following URL(s) to get the affected system's IP address:

• http://{BLOCKED}myip.com/automation/n09230945.asp

It did not exhibit backdoor routines during testing.

It does the following:

• This worm checks if Mozilla Thunderbird is installed in the affected system. It will check for the SMTP server used by this application by checking the file prefs.js and use it to send email messages containing a copy of itself to harvested email addresses.
• It checks for the presence of the following registry entry to check for SMTP server used in the affected system:
  

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Account Manager\Accounts
  SMTP Server = ""
  

If no SMTP servers are found from the abovementioned routines, it tries to guess the SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server of the affected system, using the gathered domain name and the following prefixes:
• gate.
• mail.
• mail1.
• mx.
• mx1.
• mxs.
• ns.
• relay.
• smtp.
• It then creates threads that are used to create its own SMTP engine.
• The said engine uses the SMTP servers gathered from the machine and sends email messages containing a copy of itself to email addresses gathered from the abovementioned routine. The said messages have the following appearance:
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

• It can also send an email purportedly from Bacrlays Bank asking for a verification. Clicking the link will direct users to a fake login page.
  

  

• It checks for the location of the Windows Address Book by querying the following registry key to gather email addresses:
  

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\wab\wab4\{WAB file name}
  

• This malware deletes files associated with the following registry entries:
  

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee\AVEngine
  szInstallDir = "{path}\mcshield.exe"
  

  
  

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  InstallPath = {path}\*.*"
  

• It also deletes files in the following folder:
  
  • %Program Files\Prevx
• It deletes the following autorun registry values related to AV software:
  

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
  SBAMTray
  sbamui
  cctray
  CAVRID
  BDAgent
  egui
  avast!
  AVG8_TRAY
  ISTray
  K7SystemTray
  K7TSStart
  SpIDerMail
  DrWebScheduler
  OfficeScanNT Monitor
  SpamBlocker
  Spam Blocker for Outlook Express
  F-PROT Antivirus Tray application
  RavTask
  APVXDWIN
  SCANINICIO
  McENUI
  MskAgentexe
  Windows Defender
  

• It propagates via Internet servers by querying the following registry entry to get the directory of Internet Information Services and Apache Application:
  

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\InetStp
  PathWWWRoot = " "
  

  
  

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Apache Software Foundation\Apache\{application}
  ServerRoot = " "
  

  
  

  It will then drop a copy of itself in the directories as ms09-067.exe. It will also drop the file index.htm in the said directories to display the following page upon accessing the servers:
  

  

• It uses the following file names for its dropped copies in P2P shares:
  • Ad-aware 2010.exe
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader keygen.exe
  • Adobe Illustrator CS4 crack.exe
  • Adobe Photoshop CS5 crack.exe
  • Alcohol 120 v1.9.7.exe
  • Anti-Porn v13.5.12.29.exe
  • AnyDVD HD v.6.3.1.8 Beta incl crack.exe
  • Ashampoo Snap 3.02.exe
  • AVS Video Converter v6.3.1.365 CRACKED.exe
  • BitDefender AntiVirus 2010 Keygen.exe
  • Blaze DVD Player Pro v6.52.exe
  • CleanMyPC Registry Cleaner v6.02.exe
  • Daemon Tools Pro 4.50.exe
  • Divx Pro 7 + keymaker.exe
  • Download Accelerator Plus v9.exe
  • Download Boost 2.0.exe
  • DVD Tools Nero 10.5.6.0.exe
  • G-Force Platinum v3.7.5.exe
  • Google SketchUp 7.1 Pro.exe
  • Grand Theft Auto Episodes From Liberty City 2010.exe
  • Image Size Reducer Pro v1.0.1.exe
  • Internet Download Manager V5.exe
  • K-Lite Mega Codec v5.5.1.exe
  • K-Lite Mega Codec v5.6.1 Portable.exe
  • Kaspersky AntiVirus 2010 crack.exe
  • LimeWire Pro v4.18.3.exe
  • MagicISO Magic ISO Maker v5.5.0276 Cracked.exe
  • McAfee Total Protection 2010.exe
  • Microsoft.Windows 7 ULTIMATE FINAL activator+keygen x86.exe
  • Motorola, nokia, ericsson mobil phone tools.exe
  • Mp3 Splitter and Joiner Pro v3.48.exe
  • Myspace theme collection.exe
  • Nero 9 9.2.6.0 keygen.exe
  • Norton Anti-Virus 2010 crack.exe
  • Norton Internet Security 2010 crack.exe
  • PDF password remover (works with all acrobat reader).exe
  • PDF to Word Converter 3.0.exe
  • PDF Unlocker v2.0.3.exe
  • PDF-XChange Pro.exe
  • Power ISO v4.2 + keygen axxo.exe
  • Rapidshare Auto Downloader 3.8.exe
  • RapidShare Killer AIO 2010.exe
  • Sony Vegas Pro v9.0a incl crack.exe
  • Sophos antivirus updater bypass.exe
  • Starcraft2 battle.net key generator.exe
  • Starcraft2 battle.net keys.txt.exe
  • Starcraft2 REGION-UNLOCKER.exe
  • Starcraft2 SERVER-CHANGER.exe
  • Starcraft2.exe
  • Super Utilities Pro 2009 11.0.exe
  • Total Commander7 license+keygen.exe
  • Trojan Killer v2.9.4173.exe
  • Tuneup Ultilities 2010.exe
  • Twitter FriendAdder 2.1.1.exe
  • Uniblue RegistryBooster 2010.exe
  • VmWare 7.0 keygen.exe
  • VmWare keygen.exe
  • Winamp.Pro.v7.33.PowerPack.Portable+installer.exe
  • Windows 7 Ultimate keygen.exe
  • Windows 2008 Enterprise Server VMWare Virtual Machine.exe
  • Windows XP PRO Corp SP3 valid-key generator.exe
  • Windows2008 keygen and activator.exe
  • WinRAR v3.x keygen RaZoR.exe
  • Youtube Music Downloader 1.0.exe
  • YouTubeGet 5.4.exe
• It did not exhibit information theft capabilities during testing.
• Accesses network drives to search for *.EXE and *.MSI files. Using the legitimate programs Wextract and Iexpress, it creates a Win32 Cabinet Self-Extractor containing the found file and a copy of itself. It then deletes the original file and replaces this with the created self-extracting file. Executing this file runs both the legitimate application and the malware copy. Trend Micro detects the said file as TROJ_DRPLACO.EK.