Analysis by: kathleenno

ALIASES:

W32.Pilleuz (Symantec); Worm:Win32/Rimecud.A (Microsoft); P2P-Worm.Win32.Palevo.bhxj (Kaspersky); Generic.dx!upo (Mcafee); Mal/TDSSPack-T (Sophos)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 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 on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

It drops copies of itself in all 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: 139,264 bytes
File Type: EXE
Memory Resident: Yes
Initial Samples Received Date: 25 Jul 2011

Arrival Details

This worm 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:

  • %System Root%\RECYCLER\{random SID}\rundll32.exe

(Note: %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.)

It drops the following non-malicious file:

  • %System Root%\RECYCLER\{random SID}\Desktop.ini

(Note: %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %System Root%\RECYCLER\{random SID}

(Note: %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.)

Autostart Technique

This worm adds the following registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Taskman = "%System Root%\RECYCLER\{random SID}\rundll32.exe"

Propagation

This worm creates the following folders in all removable drives:

  • system32

It drops copies of itself in all 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.

The said .INF file contains the following strings:

[AutoRun
;{garbage characters}
open=system32/rundll.exe
;{garbage characters}
:nop
;{garbage characters}
icon=%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll,4
;{garbage characters}
action=Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer
;{garbage characters}
shell\open\command=system32/rundll.exe
;{garbage characters}
shell\\explore\command=system32/rundll.exe
;{garbage characters}
useautoplay=1
;{garbage characters}
[AutoRun]
:END

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 8.900
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE: 8.309.00
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE: 25 Jul 2011

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 delete files detected as WORM_PALEVO.QPR using either the Startup Disk or Recovery Console

[ 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_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    • Taskman = %System Root%\RECYCLER\{random SID}\rundll32.exe

Step 4

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.
  • %System Root%\RECYCLER\{random SID}

Step 5

Search and delete AUTORUN.INF files created by WORM_PALEVO.QPR that contain these strings

[ Learn More ]


[AutoRun
;{garbage characters}
open=system32/rundll.exe
;{garbage characters}
:nop
;{garbage characters}
icon=%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll,4
;{garbage characters}
action=Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer
;{garbage characters}
shell\open\command=system32/rundll.exe
;{garbage characters}
shell\explore\command=system32/rundll.exe
;{garbage characters}
useautoplay=1
;{garbage characters}
[AutoRun]
:END

Step 6

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as WORM_PALEVO.QPR. 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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