TSPY_ZBOT.SMHA

This spyware has increased potential for damage, propagation, or both, that it possesses. Specifically, attempts to steal user information such as user names, passwords, and banking credentials.

To get a one-glance comprehensive view of the behavior of this Trojan, refer to the Threat Diagram shown below.

This Trojan may be dropped by other malware. It may be unknowingly downloaded by a user while visiting malicious websites.

It may be injected into processes running in memory.

It opens a random port to allow a remote user to connect to the affected system. Once a successful connection is established, the remote user executes commands on the affected system.

It attempts to steal sensitive online banking information, such as user names and passwords. This routine risks the exposure of the user's account information, which may then lead to the unauthorized use of the stolen data. It retrieves specific information from the affected system.

Arrival Details

This Trojan may be dropped by other malware.

It may be unknowingly downloaded by a user while visiting malicious websites.

Installation

This Trojan drops the following files:

• %Application Data%\{random folder name 1}\{random file name}.exe - copy of itself
• %Application Data%\{random folder name 2}\{random file name} - contains encrypted stolen data

(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.)

It creates the following folders:

• %Application Data%\{random folder name 1}
• %Application Data%\{random folder name 2}

(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.)

It is injected into the following processes running in memory:

• explorer.exe
• taskhost.exe
• taskeng.exe
• Dwm.exe
• wscntfy.exe
• ctfmon.exe
• rdpclip.exe

It may be injected into processes running in memory.

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
{GUID} = %Application Data%\{random folder name 1}\{random file name}.exe

Other System Modifications

This Trojan adds the following registry keys as part of its installation routine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
{random characters}

It creates the following registry entry(ies) to bypass Windows Firewall:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\
FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile\AuthorizedApplications\
List
%Windows%\EXPLORER.EXE = %Windows%\EXPLORER.EXE:*:Enabled:Windows Explorer

Backdoor Routine

This Trojan opens a random port to allow a remote user to connect to the affected system. Once a successful connection is established, the remote user executes commands on the affected system.

Information Theft

This Trojan attempts to steal sensitive online banking information, such as user names and passwords. This routine risks the exposure of the user's account information, which may then lead to the unauthorized use of the stolen data.

It accesses the following site to download its configuration file:

• http://www.{BLOCKED}ptbiz.ru/turkishxan.bin
• http://{BLOCKED}orntonllp.com/IEupdater.bin

It retrieves the following information from the affected system:

• Personal certificates (MY)
• FTP credentials
• Internet session cookies
• Flash player data

NOTES:
As of this writing, the said sites are inaccessible.

It monitors the Internet Explorer (IE) activities of the affected system, specifically the address bar or title bar. It recreates a legitimate website with a spoofed login page if a user visits banking sites with certain strings in the address bar or title bar.