TSPY_POCARDL.SM

 Analysis by: Sabrina Lei Sioting

 ALIASES:

Infostealer.Reedum (Symantec),TrojanSpy:Win32/Pocardler.A (Microsoft), Trojan-Spy.Win32.POS.d (Kaspersky), a variant of Win32/Spy.POSCardStealer.C trojan (NOD32), Infostealer.Reedum (Norton)

 PLATFORM:

Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)

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

  • Threat Type: Spyware

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: Yes

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel:

Downloaded from the Internet, Dropped by other malware

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 bypasses the Windows firewall. This allows the malware to perform its intended routine without being detected by an installed firewall.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size:

Varies

Memory Resident:

Yes

Initial Samples Received Date:

02 Apr 2013

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:

  • %User Profile%\svhst.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 and 7.)

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
videodrv = "%User Profile%\svhst.exe"

Other System Modifications

This spyware modifies the following registry entries to disable the Windows Firewall settings:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\
FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile
EnableFirewall = "0"

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

Information Theft

This spyware gathers the following data:

  • User's Directory Name
  • Credit/Debit Card Information

Stolen Information

This spyware saves the stolen information in the following file:

  • {malware location}\readme.txt
  • {malware location}\output.txt
  • {malware location}\{hour}.{minutes}.{seconds} {AM/PM}.txt

Drop Points

This spyware uploads files to the following File Transfer Protocol (FTP) sites:

  • {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.104.41
  • ftp.krokodil.{BLOCKED}i.net
  • ftp.c4a.{BLOCKED}b.com
  • ftp.sobachka.{BLOCKED}e.com
  • {BLOCKED}.{BLOCKED}.159.254

Other Details

This spyware drops the following file(s)/component(s):

  • {malware location}\dum.exe - also detected as TSPY_POCARDL.SM
  • {malware location}\{process ID}.memdump

NOTES:

This spyware dumps the affected system's memory to check for sensitive information such as credit/debit card account numbers, names, and expiration date stored in the aforementioned system.

User's directory name is stored in readme.txt and the card information are stored in {hour}.{minutes}.{seconds} {AM/PM}.txt, which are then uploaded to an FTP site.

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine:

9.700

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE:

10.542.07

FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE:

16 Jan 2014

VSAPI OPR PATTERN File:

10.543.00

VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date:

16 Jan 2014

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

Restart in Safe Mode

[ Learn More ]

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_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
    • videodrv = "%User Profile%\svhst.exe"

Step 4

Restore this modified 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_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Parameters\FirewallPolicy\StandardProfile
    • From: EnableFirewall = "0"
      To: EnableFirewall = "1"

Step 5

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.
  • {malware location}\readme.txt
  • {malware location}\output.txt
  • {malware location}\{process ID}.memdump
  • {malware location}\{hour}.{minutes}.{seconds} {AM/PM}.txt

Step 6

Restart in normal mode and scan your computer with your Trend Micro product for files detected as TSPY_POCARDL.SM. 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.