TrojanSpy.Win32.EMOTET.THBBHAI

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.

It connects to certain websites to send and receive information. It deletes the initially executed copy of itself.

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

• %System%\{string1}{string2}.exe - if run with admin privileges
• %AppDataLocal%\Microsoft\Windows\{string1}{string2}.exe - if run without admin privileges
  {string1} and {string2} are randomly chosen from the following strings:
  • not
  • ripple
  • svcs
  • serv
  • wab
  • shader
  • single
  • without
  • wcs
  • define
  • eap
  • culture
  • slide
  • zip
  • tmpl
  • mini
  • polic
  • panes
  • earcon
  • menus
  • detect
  • form
  • uuidgen
  • pnp
  • admin
  • tuip
  • avatar
  • started
  • dasmrc
  • alaska
  • guids
  • wfp
  • adam
  • wgx
  • lime
  • indexer
  • repl
  • dev
  • mapi
  • resw
  • daf
  • diag
  • iss
  • vsc
  • turned
  • neutral
  • sat
  • source
  • enroll
  • mfidl
  • idl
  • based
  • right
  • cbs
  • radar
  • avg
  • wordpad
  • metagen
  • mouse
  • iprop
  • mdmmcd
  • jersey
  • thunk
  • subs

(Note: %System% is the Windows system folder, where it usually is C:\Windows\System32 on all Windows operating system versions.. %AppDataLocal% is the Local Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.)

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

• PE{hash of full file path}
• Global\M{Volume serial number}
• Global\I{Volume serial number}

Autostart Technique

This Trojan Spy registers itself as a system service to ensure its automatic execution at every system startup by adding the following registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
services\{string1}{string2}
Type = "16"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
services\{string1}{string2}
Start = "2"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
services\{string1}{string2}
ErrorControl = "0"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
services\{string1}{string2}
ImagePath = "%System%\{string1}{string2}.exe"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
services\{string1}{string2}
DisplayName = "{string1}{string2}"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
services\{string1}{string2}
ObjectName = "LocalSystem"

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
{string1}{string2} = "%AppDataLocal%\Microsoft\Windows\{string1}{string2}.exe"

It registers as a system service to ensure its automatic execution at every system startup by adding the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
services\{string1}{string2}

Information Theft

This Trojan Spy gathers the following data:

• Machine Name
• System Locale
• OS Version
• Running Processes

Other Details

This Trojan Spy connects to the following website to send and receive information:

• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.59.243
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.123.254
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.60.192
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.244.117
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.119.105
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.93.238
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.210.39
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.210.191
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.164.31
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.243.40
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.130.13
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.239.150
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.31.150
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.17.206
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.217.66
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.255.80
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.191.231
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.83.137
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.37.188
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.17.7
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.100.202
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.200.114
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.147.179
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.116.239
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.83.97
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.111.19
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.72.40
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.3.54
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.124.62
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.140.110
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.187.192
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.54.39
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.185.187
• {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.59.243

It does the following:

• Deletes the following outdated copy of itself:
  • %System%\{string1}{string2}.exe:
  • %AppDataLocal%\Microsoft\Windows\{string1}{string2}.exe Where {string1 }and {string2} can be any of the following:
    • steps
    • intel
    • cyan
    • sbs
    • emit
    • graph
    • work
    • fix
    • restore
    • select
    • bml
    • iprop
    • reports
    • balloon
    • hop
    • symbol
    • mddefw
    • cyrl
    • map
    • shims
    • iface
    • portto
    • ras
    • eula
    • pdh
    • sync
    • etl
    • wpc
    • dsm
    • cat
    • archive
    • pass
    • did
    • rule
    • compile
    • bundle
    • merged
    • keyand
    • android
    • compare
    • stg
    • mnu
    • lanes
    • dir
    • dmi
    • lime
    • route
    • tap
    • cch
    • msra
    • running
    • boost
    • jit
    • diala
    • fetch
    • tabbtn
    • sendand
    • vert
    • imp
    • the
    • clear
    • role
    • drv
    • readme
• It will create a startup service if it has admin privileges, otherwise it will only create an autorun entry in the registry.
• It is capable of downloading different modules from the C&C server.

(Note: %AppDataLocal% is the Local Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Application Data on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.)

It deletes the initially executed copy of itself