WORM_VOBFUS.BX

 Analysis by: Jed Valderama

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Downloaded from the Internet, Propagates via removable drives, Via removable drives, Dropped by other malware


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 copies of itself in removable drives. These dropped copies use the names of the folders located on the said drives for their file names. It drops an AUTORUN.INF file to automatically execute the copies it drops when a user accesses the drives of an affected system.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

323,584 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

17 Jun 2011

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs

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

  • %User Profile%\{random}.exe

(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.)

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
{random} = "%User Profile%\{random}.exe /{random letter}"

Other System Modifications

This worm adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\
Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\
AU
NoAutoUpdate = "dword:00000001"

It modifies the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced
ShowSuperHidden = "0"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is 1.)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
CabinetState
FullPathAddress = "dword:00000000"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is "dword:00000001".)

Propagation

This worm drops copies of itself in removable drives. These dropped copies use the names of the folders located on the said drives for their file names.

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

Other Details

This worm connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • ns1.{BLOCKED}ipz.com
  • {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.239.143

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.200

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

9.222.06

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

29 Jun 2012

Step 1

For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users, before doing any scans, please make sure you disable System Restore to allow full scanning of your computer.

Step 2

Identify and terminate files detected as WORM_VOBFUS.BX

[ Learn More ]
  1. 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.
  2. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

Step 3

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
    • {random} = "%User Profile%\{random}.exe /{random letter}"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
    • NoAutoUpdate = "dword:00000001"

Step 4

Restore this modified 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\Explorer\Advanced
    • From: ShowSuperHidden = "dword:00000000"
      To: ShowSuperHidden = "dword:00000001"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CabinetState
    • From: FullPathAddress = "dword:00000000"
      To: FullPathAddress = "dword:00000001"

Step 5

Search and delete the file detected as WORM_VOBFUS.BX

*Note: Some component files may be 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.

To manually delete a malware/grayware file from the affected system:

  1. Right-click Start then click Search....
  2. In the Named input box, type the name of the file that was detected earlier.
  3. In the Look In drop-down list, select My Computer then press Enter.
  4. Once located, select the file then press SHIFT+DELETE to delete it.

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as WORM_VOBFUS.BX. 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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