Analysis by: Michael Jay Villanueva
 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Trojan

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel: Spammed via email, Dropped by other malware, Downloaded from the Internet

This Trojan arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users. It arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 1,327,348 bytes
File Type: PDF
Memory Resident: No
Initial Samples Received Date: 09 Jan 2018
Payload: Displays message/message boxes, Connects to URLs/IPs

Arrival Details

This Trojan arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users.

It arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

Other Details

This Trojan does the following:

  • This Trojan presents the user a fake message tricking them to click on the following link ("VIEW FILE"):
    • http://{BLOCKED}m.im/8nn
    • http://{BLOCKED}liancamelindustry.com.au/brief/NEW-DOC/
    However, as of this writing, the said site is inaccessible.
  • This Trojan also contains a "Remove Watermark Now" link found on the upper-right corner of the document, to redirect the user to:
    • http://pdf.wondershare.com -> non-malicious URL

NOTES:

This Trojan shows the following fake message and URL inside the PDF, tricking users to click on the link:

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.850
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE: 13.894.04
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE: 09 Jan 2018
VSAPI OPR PATTERN File: 13.895.00
VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date: 10 Jan 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

Identify and terminate files detected as PDF_PHISH.AUSEJY

[ Learn More ]
  1. Windows Task Manager may not display all running processes. In this case, please use a third-party process viewer, preferably Process Explorer, to terminate the malware/grayware/spyware file. You may download the said tool here.
  2. 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.
  3. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

Step 3

Close all opened browser windows

Step 4

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as PDF_PHISH.AUSEJY. 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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