JS_MORPHE.LDM

 Analysis by: Alvin Bacani

 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:

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

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 may be hosted on a website and run when a user accesses the said website.

It drops copies of itself into all the removable drives connected to an affected system.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

47,660 bytes

File Type:

Script

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

25 Jun 2013

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.

It may be hosted on a website and run when a user accesses the said website.

Installation

This worm drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %All Users Profile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\{Random}.js
  • %System Root%\Documents and Settings\Default User\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\{Random}.js
  • %System Root%\Users\Default User\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\{Random}.js
  • %User Startup%\{Random}.js
  • %Application Data%\{Random}\{Random}.js
  • %Program Files%\{Random}\{Random}.js

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the All Users or Common profile folder, which is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users in Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, and C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista and 7.. %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.. %User Startup% is the current user's Startup folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{User name}\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.. %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.. %Program Files% is the default Program Files folder, usually C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Server 2003, and XP (32-bit), Vista (32-bit), and 7 (32-bit), or C:\Program Files (x86) in Windows XP (64-bit), Vista (64-bit), and 7 (64-bit).)

It drops the following copies of itself depending on the platform/operating system of the affected computer:

  • %System Root%\Documents and Settings\Default User\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\{Random}.js - Windows XP / 2000
  • %System Root%\Users\Default User\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\{Random}.js - Windows Vista/7/8

(Note: %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.)

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} = %Application Data%\{Random}\{Random}.js

Other System Modifications

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer
NoWindowsUpdate = "1"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer
NoControlPanel = "1"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer
NofolderOptions = "1"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\
Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
HomePage = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Security Center\Svc
AntiVirusDisableNotify = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Security Center\Svc
FirewallOverride = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Security Center\Svc
FirewallDisableNotify = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\policies
DisableCMD = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\policies
NoDispCPL = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\policies
DisableRegistryTools = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\policies
DisableTaskMgr = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion
SystemRestoreDisableSR = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\
Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
HomePage = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\
Microsoft\Windows NT\SystemRestore
DisableConfig = "1"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\
FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile
EnableFirewall = "0"

Propagation

This worm drops copies of itself into all the removable drives connected to an affected system.