Trojan.X97M.DEDEX.AFJN

April 08, 2019
 Analysis by: John Anthony Banes
 Modified by: Jay Garcia
 ALIASES:

Trojan:Script/Foretype.A!ml(Microsoft), W97M.Downloader(Symantec)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Trojan

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Downloaded from the Internet, Dropped by other malware, Spammed via email

This Trojan arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users. It arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

115,712 bytes

File Type:

XLS

Memory Resident:

No

Initial Samples Received Date:

27 Mar 2019

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs, Displays graphics/image

Arrival Details

This Trojan arrives as an attachment to email messages spammed by other malware/grayware or malicious users.

It 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 Trojan drops the following files:

  • %User Profile%\{random characters}\{random characters}.exe - Copy of cmd.exe

(Note: %User Profile% is the current user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{user name} on Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003, or C:\Users\{user name} on Windows Vista, 7, and 8.)

Download Routine

This Trojan connects to the following website(s) to download and execute a malicious file:

  • https://{BLOCKED}er.com/image.rar

Other Details

This Trojan does the following:

  • The document contains the following message details luring users to enable macro content:

NOTES:

However, as of this writing, the said sites are inaccessible.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.850

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

14.902.01

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

28 Mar 2019

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

14.903.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

29 Mar 2019

Step 1

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 2

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 3

Identify and terminate files detected as Trojan.X97M.DEDEX.AFJN

[ 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 4

Search and delete these files

[ 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.  
  • %User Profile%\{random characters}\{random characters}.exe

Step 5

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as Trojan.X97M.DEDEX.AFJN. 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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