Worm.MSIL.XWORM.YXEBVZ

 Analysis by: Francesca Villasanta

 ALIASES:

UDS:Backdoor.MSIL.XWorm.gen (KASPERSKY); Trojan:MSIL/XWorm.C!MTB (MICROSOFT)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Worm

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Dropped by other malware, Downloaded from the Internet, Propagates via removable drives

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 executes commands from a remote malicious user, effectively compromising the affected system. It connects to a website to send and receive information.

It logs a user's keystrokes to steal information.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

174,080 bytes

File Type:

EXE

Memory Resident:

No

Initial Samples Received Date:

22 Feb 2024

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs, Collects system information, Downloads files, Hides files and processes, Launches DoS/DDoS attacks, Logs keystrokes

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:

  • %Application Data%\msedge.exe → with HIDDEN and SYSTEM attributes

(Note: %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)

It adds the following processes:

  • powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath '{Malware Path}\{Malware Filename}'
  • powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass Add-MpPreference -ExclusionProcess '{Malware Filename}'
  • powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath '%Application Data%\msedge.exe'
  • powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass Add-MpPreference -ExclusionProcess 'msedge.exe'

(Note: %Application Data% is the current user's Application Data folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Application Data on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit).)

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

  • oXwnhd5ZIRDDutbH

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
msedge = %Application Data%\msedge.exe

Other System Modifications

This Worm modifies the following registry key(s)/entry(ies) as part of its installation routine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced
ShowSuperHidden = 0

(Note: The default value data of the said registry entry is 1.)

Propagation

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

  • {Drive Letter}:\DriverInstaller.exe

Backdoor Routine

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

  • pong - Sends a "pong" string to the C2
  • rec - Restarts the application
  • CLOSE - Closes the application
  • uninstall - Executes the uninstall commands
  • update - Executes the uninstall commands and the updated binary
  • DW - Executes a powershell script
  • FM - Executes a command from the C2 in memory
  • LN - Downloads a file from a URL and execute it.
  • Urlopen - Opens a URL through a browser
  • Urlhide - Creates a HTTP GET request
  • PCShutdown - Executes a shutdown command
  • PCRestart - Executes a restart command
  • PCLogoff - Executes a logoff command
  • RunShell - Executes a command
  • StartDDos - Initiates DDoS activities
  • StopDDos - Terminates DDoS activities
  • StartReport - Sends a list of running processes
  • StopReport - Terminates sending of running proccesses list
  • Xchat - Sends a "Xchat" string and the ID generated using system information
  • Hosts - Sends the drivers\etc\host file contents
  • Shosts - Modifies the contents of a file
  • DDos - Sends a "DDos" string to the C2
  • ngrok - Sends an "ngrok" string and the ID generated using system information
  • plugin - Decompresses and executes a plugin
  • savePlugin - Saves the decoded plugin to a registry then decompresses and executes it
  • RemovePlugins - Deletes the registry with plugin data
  • OfflineGet - Sends the contents of the keylogger file
  • $cap - Sends a screen capture

It connects to the following websites to send and receive information:

  • using TCP:
    • {BLOCKED}dns.org:1111

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

  • using TCP:
    • {BLOCKED}dns.org:1111

Dropping Routine

This Worm drops the following file(s), which it uses for its keylogging routine:

  • %User Temp%\Log.tmp

(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).)

Information Theft

This Worm gathers the following data:

  • Username
  • OS version and architecture
  • Malware Variant ID
  • File Creation date
  • If executed from a removable drive
  • If executed with admin rights
  • Webcam availability
  • CPU Information
  • GPU Information
  • RAM Information
  • Antivirus Product name

It logs a user's keystrokes to steal information.

Other Details

This Worm does the following:

  • It sets the attributes of files found in the Removable Drives to HIDDEN and SYSTEM
  • It creates a shortcut for each of the file found in the removable drive, with the following details:
    • Shortcut filename: {Original Filename and Extension}.LNK
    • Target Path: cmd.exe /c start DriverInstaller.exe&start {Original Filename & extension} & exit

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.800

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

19.176.06

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

23 Feb 2024

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

19.177.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

24 Feb 2024

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.XXPE50FFF077

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

Restore this modified registry value

[ Learn More ]

Important: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can lead to irreversible system malfunction. Please do this only if you know how to or you can seek your system administrator’s help. You may also check out this Microsoft article first before modifying your computer's registry.

  • In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
    • ShowSuperHidden = 0 = 1

Step 5

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
    • msedge = %Application Data%\msedge.exe

Step 6

  1. Open a command prompt.
    • For Windows 7 users, click Start, enter CMD in the Find input field, and press Enter.
  2. In the CMD console, enter the following:

    ATTRIB [+R | -R] [+A | -A ] [+S | -S] [+H | -H] [+I | -I] [drive:][path][filename] [/S [/D] [/L]]

    Where:
    + Activates an attribute
    - Disables an attribute
    R Read-only file attribute
    A Archive file attribute
    S System file attribute
    H Hidden file attribute
    I Indexed file attribute without content
    [drive:][path][filename]
    Specifies one or more files in the current folder and all its subfolders
    /S Processes the corresponding files in the current folder and all its subfolders
    /D Process folders
    /L Act on the attributes of the symbolic link instrad of the target of the symbolic link
    Example:
    To make all files and folders (including subfolders visible in drive D:
    ATTRIB –H D:\* /S /D
  3. Repeat the step above for folders and files from other drives or directories.

Step 7

Search and delete this file

[ Learn More ]
There may be some files that are hidden. Please make sure you check the Search Hidden Files and Folders checkbox in the "More advanced options" option to include all hidden files and folders in the search result.
  • %Application Data%\msedge.exe
  • %User Startup%\msedge.lnk
  • {Removable Drive Letter}:\DriverInstaller.exe
  • %User Temp%\Log.tmp
  • {Removable Drive Letter}:\{Original Filename and Extension}.LNK

Step 8

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as Worm.MSIL.XWORM.YXEBVZ. 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 the following Trend Micro Support pages for more information:


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