Coinminer.Linux.MALXMR.WJY

 Analysis by: John Anthony Banes

 ALIASES:

HEUR:RiskTool.Linux.BitCoinMiner.n (Kaspersky);

 PLATFORM:

Linux (64-bit)

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

  • Threat Type: Coinminer

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Dropped by other malware, Downloaded from the Internet


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

It uses the system's central processing unit (CPU) and/or graphical processing unit (GPU) resources to mine cryptocurrency.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

605,016 bytes

File Type:

ELF

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

10 Sep 2019

Payload:

Connects to URLs/IPs

Arrival Details

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

Other Details

This Coinminer does the following:

  • The file /tmp/.lock serves as instance check. This malware exits if the file mentioned exists. Only works if no parameters are specified.
  • It accepts the following parameters used for coinmining:
    • -d = mine with static ip for non-dns resolver server
    • -p (value) = use custom port for pool/proxy
    • -dp (value) = combination of -d and -p parameters
    • -lan (ip address) = used to point miner for local area network
    • -f = run in foreground mode and see statistical information
    • -t (value) = set number of threads for mining
    • -v = check the current version of miner and build infos
    • -lf (filename) = log-file where stats are saved
    • -dl (value) = set donate level
    • -h (name) = set custom fake process for miner
    • -k = mine without releasing cpu load by heavy process
    • -c = run miner without cronjob (scheduler)
    • -r = run miner forcefully
  • If the value for "-c" is not specified, it adds the following to cron for automatic execution:
    • * * * * * (malware path and filename)
  • If the value for "-h" is not specified, "ps x" is used.
  • By default, it connects to the following pool for coinmining:
    • exploiter-v4.pwndns.pw (monerohash.com)
    • A dummy string [fbi.gov:80] is displayed instead of the actual connection if foreground mode is enabled
  • It uses the following credentials for coinmining:
    • login: {BLOCKED}3L85SAp3oKu1im7EgaVGBsWYhf7KxrebESVE6QHA5vJRab6wF1gsVkYwJfnNV2KYHU1Xq2A9XUYmWhvzPf2E6Nvse
    • password: x

It uses the system's central processing unit (CPU) and/or graphical processing unit (GPU) resources to mine cryptocurrency. This behavior makes the system run abnormally slow.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.850

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

15.358.07

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

10 Sep 2019

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

15.359.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

11 Sep 2019

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as Coinminer.Linux.MALXMR.WJY. 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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