Analysis by: Rhena Inocencio
ALIASES:

VirTool:Win32/CeeInject.gen!CN (Microsoft), Trojan.Gen (Symantec), W32/Autorun.worm!ka (McAfee), a variant of Win32/Injector.KNI trojan (Nod32), Trojan.Win32.Meredrop (Sunbelt)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel: Propagates via removable drives

This worm arrives via removable drives.

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

It executes commands from a remote malicious user, effectively compromising the affected system.

It does not have any information-stealing capability.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 217,088 bytes
File Type: EXE
Memory Resident: Yes
Initial Samples Received Date: 10 Sep 2012
Payload: Compromises system security

Arrival Details

This worm arrives via removable drives.

Installation

This worm drops the following files:

  • %User Temp%\0-{random name} - also detected as WORM_AUTORUN.GHH

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

  • %User Profile%\Application Data\driveraudio.exe

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Windows\Profiles\{user name} on Windows 98 and ME, C:\WINNT\Profiles\{user name} on Windows NT, and C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.)

It adds the following mutexes to ensure that only one of its copies runs at any one time:

  • {random name}

It injects codes into the following process(es):

  • explorer.exe

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
DriverAudio = "%User Profile%\Application Data\driveraudio.exe"

Propagation

This worm creates the following folders in all removable drives:

  • {drive letter}:\RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107
  • {drive letter}:\RECYCLER

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

  • {drive letter}:\RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107\autorun.exe

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[
:{garbage characters}
[aUtoRUn
;{garbage characters}
OpEN=RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107\autorun.exe
:{garbage characters}
ACtioN=Open
Shell\OpEn=Open
SHELL\\oPen\\\CoMMAnd=RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107\autorun.exe
SHELL\\eXpLorE\\CoMMAnd=RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107\autorun.exe
UseAUToPLAy={garbage characters}

Backdoor Routine

This worm executes the following commands from a remote malicious user:

  • Perform UDP DDOS
  • Perform SYN Flood
  • Download updated copy of itself
  • Download arbitrary files
  • Execute files
  • Uninstall itself

It connects to the following URL(s) to send and receive commands from a remote malicious user:

  • dns.{BLOCKED}-cc.net:1024

Information Theft

This worm does not have any information-stealing capability.

NOTES:

It does not have rootkit capabilities.

It does not exploit any vulnerability.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.200
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE: 9.384.02
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE: 10 Sep 2012
VSAPI OPR PATTERN File: 9.385.00
VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date: 11 Sep 2012

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 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\Run
    • DriverAudio = "%User Profile%\Application Data\driveraudio.exe"

Step 4

Search and delete the file detected as WORM_AUTORUN.GHH

[ Learn More ]
Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the More advanced options option to include all hidden files in the search result.

Step 5

Search and delete these folders

[ 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.
  • {drive letter}:\RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107
  • {drive letter}:\RECYCLER

Step 6

Search and delete AUTORUN.INF files created by WORM_AUTORUN.GHH that contain these strings

[ Learn More ]
  • [aUtoRun[
    :{garbage characters}
    [aUtoRUn
    ;{garbage characters}
    OpEN=RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107\autorun.exe
    :{garbage characters}
    ACtioN=Open
    Shell\OpEn=Open
    SHELL\\oPen\\\CoMMAnd=RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107\autorun.exe
    SHELL\\eXpLorE\\CoMMAnd=RECYCLER\S-11-7-07-1107-042981-1107\autorun.exe
    UseAUToPLAy={garbage characters}

Step 7

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


Did this description help? Tell us how we did.