Analysis by: Anthony Joe Melgarejo

ALIASES:

TrojanSpy:Win32/Bagopos.A (Microsoft)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Spyware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel: Downloaded from the Internet

This Point-of-Sale(PoS) malware was discovered on April 2015 attempting to target certain US-based airports. PoS devices infected by this malware should be considered compromised due to its info-stealing routines.

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

It retrieves specific information from the affected system. It logs a user's keystrokes to steal information.

It deletes itself after execution.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 169,984 bytes
File Type: EXE
Memory Resident: No
Initial Samples Received Date: 26 Aug 2015
Payload: Connects to URLs/IPs

Arrival Details

This spyware 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 spyware drops the following copies of itself into the affected system and executes them:

  • %Application Data%\{file path}

(Note: %Application Data% is the Application Data folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.)

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Java Update Manager = "%Application Data%\{file path}"

Information Theft

This spyware retrieves the following information from the affected system:

  • cs = {status code}
  • p = os version + 32/64-bit + computer name
  • m = sessionID
  • ls = stolen data
  • v = client version

It logs a user's keystrokes to steal information.

Stolen Information

This spyware sends the gathered information via HTTP POST to the following URL:

  • http://{BLOCKED}es777.cc/b/connect/2

Other Details

This spyware deletes itself after execution.

NOTES:

The variable {status code} is encrypted data and can be any of the following:

  • cGFzcw - pass - Report list of stolen VNC password
  • aW5zZXJ0 - insert - Report victim information
  • bG9n - log - Check connection: Keep Alive
  • a2xvZw - klog - Report credit card and logged data

The variable {file path} can be any of the following:

  • dwm\dwm.exe
  • Java\Javaj.exe
  • lsasss\lsasss.exe
  • lsm\lsm.exe
  • svchost\svchost.exe

It acquires VNC passwords of the following for remote control:

  • RealVNC
  • TigerVNC
  • TightVNC
  • UltraVNC
  • WinVNC

It scans the memory of all running processes except for the following:

  • alg.exe
  • csrss.exe
  • lsass.exe
  • smss.exe
  • spoolsv.exe
  • svchost.exe
  • System
  • winlogon.exe
  • wuauclt.exe

It uses a constant User-Agent:

Mozilla/4.0(compatible; MSIE 7.0b; Windows NT 6.0

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.750
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE: 11.564.04
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE: 27 Mar 2015
VSAPI OPR PATTERN File: 11.565.00
VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date: 28 Mar 2015

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 TSPY_POSNEWT.SMA

[ 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

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
    • Java Update Manager = "%Application Data%\{file path}"

Step 4

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as TSPY_POSNEWT.SMA. 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.