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PUA_MULTIPLUG.GD

March 27, 2018
 Analysis by: Byron Jon Gelera
 ALIASES:

a variant of Win32/Adware.MultiPlug.OS.gen (ESET-NOD32); AdWare.Win32.MultiPlug.offb (Kaspersky)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Potentially Unwanted Application

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Dropped by other malware, Downloaded from the Internet


This Potentially Unwanted Application 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 manually installed by a user.

It connects to certain websites to send and receive information. However, as of this writing, the said sites are inaccessible.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

213,504 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

No

Initial Samples Received Date:

08 Feb 2018

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs

Arrival Details

This Potentially Unwanted Application 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 manually installed by a user.

Installation

This Potentially Unwanted Application adds the following folders:

  • %ProgramData%\{GUID}

(Note: %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

It drops the following files:

  • %ProgramData%\{GUID}\{grayware filename}.dat

(Note: %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

It drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %ProgramData%\{GUID}\{grayware filename}.exe

(Note: %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

Other System Modifications

This Potentially Unwanted Application adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
{hex string}

It adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
{hex string}
(default) = {encoded string}

Other Details

This Potentially Unwanted Application connects to the following website to send and receive information:

  • http://{BLOCKED}uesee.info/get/?q={encoded string}
  • http://{BLOCKED}-ring.link/?q={encoded string}
  • http://{BLOCKED}ripzipbar.com/?q={encoded string}

However, as of this writing, the said sites are inaccessible.

It adds the following scheduled tasks:

  • Task Name: ClearCutter
  • Triggers: Executed every 6 hours
  • Task to be run: %ProgramData%\{GUID}\{grayware filename}.exe --startup=1 --single

(Note: %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.850

SSAPI PATTERN File:

1.931.00

SSAPI PATTERN Date:

22 Mar 2018

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

Note that not all files, folders, and registry keys and entries are installed on your computer during this malware's/spyware's/grayware's execution. This may be due to incomplete installation or other operating system conditions. If you do not find the same files/folders/registry information, please proceed to the next step.

Step 3

Deleting Scheduled Tasks

The following {Task Name} - {Task to be run} listed should be used in the steps identified below:

  • Task Name: ClearCutter
  • Task to be run: %ProgramData%\{GUID}\{grayware filename}.exe --startup=1 --single

For Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003:

  1. Open the Windows Scheduled Tasks. Click Start>Programs>Accessories>
    System Tools>Scheduled Tasks.
  2. Locate each {Task Name} values listed above in the Name column.
  3. Right-click on the said file(s) with the aforementioned value.
  4. Click on Properties. In the Run field, check for the listed {Task to be run}.
  5. If the strings match the list above, delete the task.

For Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012:

  1. Open the Windows Task Scheduler. To do this:
    • On Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008, click Start, type taskschd.msc in the Search input field, then press Enter.
    • On Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012, right-click on the lower left corner of the screen, click Run, type taskschd.msc, then press Enter.
  2. In the left panel, click Task Scheduler Library.
  3. In the upper-middle panel, locate each {Task Name} values listed above in the Name column.
  4. In the lower-middle panel, click the Actions tab. In the Details column, check for the {Task to be run} string.
  5. If the said string is found, delete the task.

Step 4

Delete this registry key

[ 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\Uninstall
    • {hex string}

Step 5

Search and delete this folder

[ Learn More ]
Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the More advanced options option to include all hidden folders in the search result.
  • %ProgramData%\{GUID}

Step 6

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.
  • %ProgramData%\{GUID}\{grayware filename}.dat

Step 7

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as PUA_MULTIPLUG.GD. 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 the following Trend Micro Support pages for more information:


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