Analysis by: Cris Nowell Pantanilla
 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

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.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 331,776 bytes
File Type: EXE
Memory Resident: Yes
Initial Samples Received Date: 03 May 2012

Arrival Details

This worm arrives via removable drives.

Installation

This worm drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %User Profile%\Application Data\GoogleChrome\svchost.exe
  • %User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.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.)

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\Policies\
Explorer\Run
csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
WindowsDefender = "%User Profile%\Application Data\GoogleChrome\svchost.exe"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\
Explorer\Run
csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"

It modifies the following registry entries to ensure it automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Userinit = "%System%\userinit.exe,%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is "%System%\userinit.exe,".)

Propagation

This worm 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]
sHelleXeCUte=SYsteM.exe
ICoN=%wINDIR%\SYSTem32\shELL32.dLl,4
sheLl\OpEN\coMManD=SYSTEM.exe
sHeLL\EXPLore\ComMAnD=SYSTEM.exe
USeAUTOplAY=1

Other Details

This worm connects to the following URL(s) to get the affected system's IP address:

  • http://www.maxmind.com/app/locate_my_ip

It connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • {BLOCKED}.no-ip.org

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.200

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

Identify and terminate files detected as WORM_INJECT.VQ

[ Learn More ]
  1. 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.
  2. If the detected file is not displayed in either Windows Task Manager or Process Explorer, continue doing the next steps.

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\Policies\Explorer\Run
    • csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • WindowsDefender = "%User Profile%\Application Data\GoogleChrome\svchost.exe"
  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\Run
    • csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"
  • In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • csrss = "%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.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_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    • From: Userinit = "%System%\userinit.exe,%User Profile%\Application Data\Microsoft\csrss.exe"
      To: Userinit = "%System%\userinit.exe,"

Step 5

Search and delete AUTORUN.INF files created by WORM_INJECT.VQ that contain these strings

[ Learn More ]
[autorun]
sHelleXeCUte=SYsteM.exe
ICoN=%wINDIR%\SYSTem32\shELL32.dLl,4
sheLl\OpEN\coMManD=SYSTEM.exe
sHeLL\EXPLore\ComMAnD=SYSTEM.exe
USeAUTOplAY=1

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as WORM_INJECT.VQ. 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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