TSPY_TEPFER.CDO

 Analysis by: Alvin Bacani

 ALIASES:

UDS:DangerousObject.Multi.Generic (Kaspersky); Trojan-PWS.Win32.Tepfer (Ikarus)

 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: Spyware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild:

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Downloaded from the Internet, Dropped by other malware


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

It bypasses the Windows firewall. This allows the malware to perform its intended routine without being detected by an installed firewall.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

148,480 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

19 Jul 2013

Payload:

Steals information

Arrival Details

This spyware 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 spyware drops the following files:

  • %Application Data%\Microsoft\Address Book\{username}.wab
  • %Application Data%\Microsoft\Address Book\{username}.wab~

(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, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista and 7.)

Other System Modifications

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion
VendorId = {random values}

It modifies the following registry entries to disable the Windows Firewall settings:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\
FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\
List
{malware path and filename} = "{malware path and filename}:*:Enabled:Microsoft Office"

Information Theft

This spyware attempts to steal stored account information used in the following installed File Transfer Protocol (FTP) clients or file manager software:

  • ALFTP
  • CoffeeCup
  • CoreFTP
  • FTP Commander
  • FTP Navigator
  • FTPRush
  • Far
  • Far2
  • FileZilla
  • Ghisler
  • GlobalSCAPE
  • SecureFX
  • SmartFTP
  • Total Commander
  • TurboFTP
  • UltraFXP
  • WS_FTP

It attempts to steal stored email credentials from the following:

  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Outlook Express

Other Details

This spyware connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • http://{BLOCKED}eset.com
  • http://{BLOCKED}land.com

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.300

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

10.164.08

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

19 Jul 2013

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

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product and note files detected as TSPY_TEPFER.CDO

Step 3

Identify and terminate files detected as TSPY_TEPFER.CDO

[ Learn More ]
  1. For Windows 98 and ME users, Windows Task Manager may not display all running processes. In this case, please use a third-party process viewer, preferably Process Explorer, to terminate the grayware/spyware file. You may download the said tool here.
  2. If the detected file is displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer but you cannot delete it, restart your computer in safe mode. To do this, refer to this link for the complete steps.
  3. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

Step 4

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%\Microsoft\Address Book\{username}.wab
  • %Application Data%\Microsoft\Address Book\{username}.wab~

Step 5

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\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\List
    • {malware path and filename}    {malware path and filename}:*:Enabled:Microsoft Office
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
    • VendorId = {random values}

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as TSPY_TEPFER.CDO. 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.


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