Ransom.Win32.SODINOKIBI.THDO
Ransom:Win32/Sodinokibi.DSB!MTB (MICROSOFT), Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Sodin.zh (KASPERSKY)
Windows
Threat Type: Ransomware
Destructiveness: No
Encrypted: Yes
In the wild: Yes
OVERVIEW
This Ransomware arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.
It drops files as ransom note. It avoids encrypting files with the following file extensions.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Arrival Details
This Ransomware 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 Ransomware drops the following files:
- {Malware Path}\DBG_LOG.TXT → logs all the system changes done by the malware
- %User Temp%\{Random Characters}.bmp → used as wallpaper
(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(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)
It adds the following processes:
- powershell -e {Base-64 Encoded Command} → Deletes shadow copies
It adds the following mutexes to ensure that only one of its copies runs at any one time:
- Global\D2E08536-A08B-1B12-DFD4-7AA58181F7FD
Other System Modifications
This Ransomware adds the following registry entries:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
vW7 = {Hex Values}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
Zi51 = {Hex Values}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
k7Zbb = {Hex Values}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
SCayjH = {Hex Values}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
urVMni9 = Appended Extension
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
74uP24hQ = {Hex Values}
It changes the desktop wallpaper by modifying the following registry entries:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop
Wallpaper = %User Temp%\{Random Characters}.bmp
It sets the system's desktop wallpaper to the following image:
Process Termination
This Ransomware terminates the following services if found on the affected system:
- backup
- memtas
- mepocs
- sophos
- sql
- svc$
- veeam
- vss
It terminates the following processes if found running in the affected system's memory:
- agntsvc
- dbeng50
- dbsnmp
- encsvc
- excel
- firefox
- infopath
- isqlplussvc
- msaccess
- mspub
- mydesktopqos
- mydesktopservice
- ocautoupds
- ocomm
- ocssd
- onenote
- oracle
- outlook
- powerpnt
- sqbcoreservice
- sql
- steam
- synctime
- tbirdconfig
- thebat
- thunderbird
- visio
- winword
- wordpad
- xfssvccon
Information Theft
This Ransomware gathers the following data:
- Computer name
- Operating System name
- System Architecture
- Username
- Workgroup
Other Details
This Ransomware adds the following registry keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
It does the following:
- It checks for the system's computer layout and terminates if it is any of the following:
- Russian
- Ukrainian
- Belarusian
- Tajik
- Armenian
- Azeri-Latin
- Georgian
- Kazakh
- Kyrgyz-Cyrillic
- Slovenian
- Uzbek-Latin
- Tatar
- Romanian-Moldova
- Russian-Moldova
- Azeri-Cyrillic
- Uzbek-Cyrillic
- Syriac
- Arabic-Syria
- It wipes the contents of the following folder(s):
- backup
- It checks if its privilege level is on SYSTEM level. If it is, it will impersonate the user that ran the first explorer.exe it has found.
- It accepts the following parameters:
- -nolan → avoids encrypting network and shared drives
- -nolocal → avoids encrypting fixed and removable drives
- -silent → skips the following:
- Termination of blacklisted processes and services
- Removal of shadow copies
- -path → encrypts the specified directory
- -fast → fast encryption mode
- It displays the following window where it logs all the system changes which will be written on the {Malware Path}\DBG_LOG.TXT:
Ransomware Routine
This Ransomware avoids encrypting files with the following strings in their file name:
- autorun.inf
- boot.ini
- bootfont.bin
- bootsect.bak
- desktop.ini
- iconcache.db
- ntldr
- ntuser.dat
- ntuser.dat.log
- ntuser.ini
- thumbs.db
It avoids encrypting files found in the following folders:
- $recycle.bin
- $windows.~bt
- $windows.~ws
- appdata
- application data
- boot
- intel
- mozilla
- msocache
- perflogs
- program files
- program files (x86)
- programdata
- system volume information
- tor browser
- windows.old
It appends the following extension to the file name of the encrypted files:
- {Original Filename}.{Original File Extension}.{Random Characters}
It drops the following file(s) as ransom note:
- {Encrypted Directory}\{Appended Extension}-readme.txt
It avoids encrypting files with the following file extensions:
- .386
- .adv
- .ani
- .bat
- .bin
- .cab
- .cmd
- .com
- .cpl
- .cur
- .deskthemepack
- .diagcab
- .diagcfg
- .diagpkg
- .dll
- .drv
- .exe
- .hlp
- .hta
- .icl
- .icns
- .ico
- .ics
- .idx
- .key
- .lnk
- .lock
- .mod
- .mpa
- .msc
- .msi
- .msp
- .msstyles
- .msu
- .nls
- .nomedia
- .ocx
- .prf
- .ps1
- .rom
- .rtp
- .scr
- .shs
- .spl
- .sys
- .theme
- .themepack
- .wpx
SOLUTION
Step 1
Trend Micro Predictive Machine Learning detects and blocks malware at the first sign of its existence, before it executes on your system. When enabled, your Trend Micro product detects this malware under the following machine learning name:
- Troj.Win32.TRX.XXPE50FFF036
Step 2
Before doing any scans, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 users must disable System Restore to allow full scanning of their computers.
Step 3
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 4
Restart in Safe Mode
Step 5
Delete this registry value
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_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
- vW7 = {Hex Values}
- vW7 = {Hex Values}
- In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
- Zi51 = {Hex Values}
- Zi51 = {Hex Values}
- In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
- k7Zbb = {Hex Values}
- k7Zbb = {Hex Values}
- In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
- SCayjH = {Hex Values}
- SCayjH = {Hex Values}
- In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
- urVMni9 = Appended Extension .185ypl3l8
- urVMni9 = Appended Extension .185ypl3l8
- In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
- 74uP24hQ = {Hex Values}
- 74uP24hQ = {Hex Values}
Step 6
Delete this registry key
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. Before you could do this, you must restart in Safe Mode. For instructions on how to do this, you may refer to this page If the preceding step requires you to restart in safe mode, you may proceed to edit the system registry.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Facebook_Assistant
Step 7
Search and delete these files
- {Malware Path}\DBG_LOG.TXT
- %User Temp%\{Random Characters}.bmp
- {Encrypted Directory}\{Appended Extension}-readme.txt
Step 8
Reset your Desktop properties
Step 9
Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as Ransom.Win32.SODINOKIBI.THDO. 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.
Step 10
Restore encrypted files from backup.
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