Analysis by: Bren Matthew Ebriega
ALIASES:

Trojan.Win32.APosT.lqi (KASPERSKY)

 PLATFORM:

Windows

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

  • Threat Type: Trojan

  • Destructiveness: No

  • Encrypted: No

  • In the wild: Yes

  OVERVIEW

Infection Channel: Downloaded from the Internet

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 connects to certain websites to send and receive information. However, as of this writing, the said sites are inaccessible.

  TECHNICAL DETAILS

File Size: 159,232 bytes
File Type: DLL
Memory Resident: No
Initial Samples Received Date: 10 Jun 2021
Payload: Connects to URLs/IPs, Downloads files

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 files:

  • %User Temp%\{4 Hex Characters}.tmp.bat → To delete original copy and self.

(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).)

It drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

  • %All Users Profile%\Intel\Driverdriver.cfg

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the common user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\ProgramData on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit). )

It adds the following processes:

  • regsvr32.exe /s %All Users Profile%\Intel\Driverdriver.cfg
  • schtasks /create /f /tn "Intel\Disk\Volume1" /tr "%System%\regsvr32.exe /s "%All Users Profile%\Intel\Driverdriver.cfg"" /sc minute /mo 30
  • cmd /c %User Temp%\{4 Hex Characters}.tmp.bat

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the common user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\ProgramData on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit). . %System% is the Windows system folder, where it usually is C:\Windows\System32 on all Windows operating system versions.. %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).)

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

  • windows update server real time mui cache

Other System Modifications

This Trojan adds the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
FTP
Use Smtp = {Hex Values}

Download Routine

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

  • http://{BLOCKED}a.or.kr/init/{Generated ID}.down

It saves the files it downloads using the following names:

  • %All Users Profile%\Intel\Driver\cachew-{Numbers}.cache

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the common user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\ProgramData on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit). )

Other Details

This Trojan connects to the following website to send and receive information:

  • http://{BLOCKED}a.or.kr/init/image?i=init&u={Generated ID}c&p=ya
  • http://{BLOCKED}a.or.kr/init/image?i=ping&u={Generated ID}c&p=wait..

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

It adds the following scheduled tasks:

  • Task Name: Intel\Disk\Volume1
    Task Action: %System%\regsvr32.exe /s %All Users Profile%\Intel\Driverdriver.cfg

(Note: %All Users Profile% is the common user's profile folder, which is usually C:\Documents and Settings\All Users on Windows 2000(32-bit), XP, and Server 2003(32-bit), or C:\ProgramData on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 2008(64-bit), 2012(64-bit) and 10(64-bit). )

  SOLUTION

Minimum Scan Engine: 9.800
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN FILE: 16.884.08
FIRST VSAPI PATTERN DATE: 04 Aug 2021
VSAPI OPR PATTERN File: 16.885.00
VSAPI OPR PATTERN Date: 05 Aug 2021

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.XXPE50FFF046E0002

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

Deleting Scheduled Tasks

The following {Task Name} - {Task to be run} listed should be used in the steps identified below:

  • Task Name: Intel\Disk\Volume1
    Task to be run: %System%\regsvr32.exe /s %All Users Profile%\Intel\Driverdriver.cfg

For Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003:

  1. Open the Windows Scheduled Tasks. Click Start>Programs>Accessories>
    System Tools>Scheduled Tasks.
  2. Locate each {Task Name} values listed above in the Name column.
  3. Right-click on the said file(s) with the aforementioned value.
  4. Click on Properties. In the Run field, check for the listed {Task to be run}.
  5. If the strings match the list above, delete the task.

For Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012:

  1. Open the Windows Task Scheduler. To do this:
    • On Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008, click Start, type taskschd.msc in the Search input field, then press Enter.
    • On Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012, right-click on the lower left corner of the screen, click Run, type taskschd.msc, then press Enter.
  2. In the left panel, click Task Scheduler Library.
  3. In the upper-middle panel, locate each {Task Name} values listed above in the Name column.
  4. In the lower-middle panel, click the Actions tab. In the Details column, check for the {Task to be run} string.
  5. If the said string is found, delete the task.

Step 5

Scan your computer with your Trend Micro product to delete files detected as Trojan.Win32.APPLESEED.A. 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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