Analysis by: Pearl Charlaine Espejo

ALIASES:

Win32/Neurevt.I (ESET-NOD32); Trojan-Ransom.NSIS.Onion.je (Kaspersky); RDN/Ransom!ey (McAfee); W32/CAXO!tr (Fortinet); Trojan:Win32/Skeeyah!bit (Microsoft)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Trojan

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted:

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

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

It deletes itself after execution.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

Tamaño del archivo 266,205 bytes
Tipo de archivo EXE
Fecha de recepción de las muestras iniciales 30 May 2015

Arrival Details

This Trojan 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 copies of itself into the affected system and executes them:

  • %ProgramData%\Windows Search 5.3.10\{random filename}.exe (for Windows Vista and above)
  • %Program Files%\Common Files\Windows Search 5.3.10\{random filename}.exe (for Windows XP and below)

(Note: %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in 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.. %Program Files% is the Program Files folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files on all Windows operating system versions; C:\Program Files (x86) for 32-bit applications running on Windows 64-bit operating systems.)

It drops the following files:

  • %Application Data%\11 The Notorious B.I.G. - Everyday Struggle.flac
  • %User Temp%\{random characters}.tmp\stripers.dll
  • %ProgramData%\Windows Search 5.3.10\desktop.ini (for Windows Vista and above)
  • %Program Files%\Common Files\Windows Search 5.3.10\desktop.ini (for Windows XP and below)

(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.. %User Temp% is the user's temporary folder, where it usually is C:\Documents and Settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temp on Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Temp 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.. %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in 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.. %Program Files% is the Program Files folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files on all Windows operating system versions; C:\Program Files (x86) for 32-bit applications running on Windows 64-bit operating systems.)

It creates the following folders:

  • %ProgramData%\Windows Search 5.3.10 (for Windows Vista and above)
  • %Program Files%\Common Files\Windows Search 5.3.10 (for Windows XP and below)

(Note: %ProgramData% is the Program Data folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files in Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit); C:\ProgramData in 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.. %Program Files% is the Program Files folder, where it usually is C:\Program Files on all Windows operating system versions; C:\Program Files (x86) for 32-bit applications running on Windows 64-bit operating systems.)

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Windows Search 5.3.10 = "%Program Files%\Common Files\Windows Search 5.3.10\{random filename}.exe" (for Windows XP and below)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Windows Search 5.3.10 = "%Program Files%\Common Files\Windows Search 5.3.10\{random filename}.exe" (for Windows XP and below)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
Windows Search 5.3.10 = "%ProgramData%\Windows Search 5.3.10\{random filename}.exe" (for Windows Vista and above)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Windows Search 5.3.10 = "%ProgramData%\Windows Search 5.3.10\{random filename}.exe" (for Windows Vista and above)

It adds the following Image File Execution Options registry entries to automatically execute itself whenever certain applications are run:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\
{filename}.exe
Debugger = ""%ProgramData%\Windows Search 5.3.10\{random filename}.exe" /uac /ifeo" (for Windows Vista and above)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\
{filename}.exe
Debugger = ""%Program Files%\Common Files\Windows Search 5.3.10" /uac /ifeo" (for Windows XP and below)

Other System Modifications

This Trojan adds the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AppDataLow\
Software\{UID}

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AppDataLow\
Software\MyMailClient

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AppDataLow\
Google Updater (for Windows Vista and above)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Logitech, Inc. (for Windows XP and below)

It adds the following registry entries as part of its installation routine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\
Zones\1
2500 = "3"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\
Zones\2
2500 = "3"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\
Zones\3
2500 = "3"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\
Zones\4
2500 = "3"

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AppDataLow\
Google Updater
LastUpdate = "{hex values}" (for Windows Vista and above)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Logitech, Inc.
WindowLayout = "{hex values}" (for Windows XP and below)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Internet Explorer\Main
NoProtectedModeBanner = "1"

Other Details

This Trojan connects to the following possibly malicious URL:

  • http://{BLOCKED}werss.com/power/logout.php

It deletes itself after execution.