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WORM_GAMETHI.MK

October 09, 2012
 Analysis by: MarfelTi
 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW


This worm arrives by connecting affected removable drives to a system. It 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 modifies registry entries to hide files with System and Read-only attributes.

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:

113,451 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

27 May 2011

Arrival Details

This worm arrives by connecting affected removable drives to a system.

It 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:

  • %drive%:\9npxi.bat
  • %User Temp%\xvassdef.exe

(Note: %User Temp% is the current user's Temp folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.)

It terminates the execution of the copy it initially executed and executes the copy it drops instead.

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
54dfsger = "%User Temp%\xvassdef.exe"

Other System Modifications

This worm modifies the following registry entries to hide files with System and Read-only attributes:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced
Hidden = "2"

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

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

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

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced\Folder\Hidden\
SHOWALL
CheckedValue = "0"

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

Propagation

This worm drops the following copy(ies) of itself in all removable drives:

  • 9npxi.bat

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

The said .INF file contains the following strings:

[AutoRun]
open=9npxi.bat
shell\open\Comman=9npxi.bat

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

8.900

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

Restart in Safe Mode

[ Learn More ]

Step 3

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\Run
    • 54dfsger = "%User Temp%\xvassdef.exe"

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: Hidden = "2"
      To: "1"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
    • From: ShowSuperHidden = "0"
      To: "1"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
    • From: CheckedValue = "0"
      To: "1"

Step 5

Search and delete AUTORUN.INF files created by WORM_GAMETHI.MK that contain these strings

[ Learn More ]

[AutoRun]
open=9npxi.bat
shell\open\Comman=9npxi.bat

Step 6

Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as WORM_GAMETHI.MK. 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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