WORM_PALEVO.SMS

This worm arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites. It may be downloaded from remote sites by other malware.

It adds registry entries to enable its automatic execution at every system startup.

It drops copies of itself in all removable drives. It drops an AUTORUN.INF file to automatically execute the copies it drops when a user accesses the drives of an affected system.

It performs denial of service (DoS) attacks on affected systems using specific flooding method(s).

It executes the downloaded files. As a result, malicious routines of the downloaded files are exhibited on the affected system.

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

Arrival Details

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

It may be downloaded from remote site(s) by the following malware:

• WORM_KOLAB.SML

It may be downloaded from the following remote sites:

• http://b.{BLOCKED}4g.net/xxudv.exe

Installation

This worm drops the following copies of itself into the affected system:

• C:\RECYCLER\{SID}\acleaner.exe

It drops the following non-malicious file:

• C:\RECYCLER\{SID}\Desktop.ini

It creates the following folders:

• C:\RECYCLER\{SID}

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

• fsmgr

It stays memory-resident by injecting codes into the following processes:

• explorer.exe

Autostart Technique

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

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Taskman = "C:\RECYCLER\{SID}\acleaner.exe"

Propagation

This worm drops copies of itself in all removable drives.

It drops an AUTORUN.INF file to automatically execute the copies it drops when a user accesses the drives of an affected system.

The said .INF file contains the following strings:

{garbage characters}
[AutoRun]
open=RECYCLER\{SID}\acleaner.exe
{garbage characters}
icon=%System Root%\system32\SHELL32.dll,4
action=Open folder to view files
shell\open=Open
shell\open\command=RECYCLER\{SID}\acleaner.exe
{garbage characters}
shell\open\default=1
{garbage characters}

(Note: %System Root% is the root folder, which is usually C:\. It is also where the operating system is located.)

Denial of Service (DoS) Attack

This worm performs denial of service (DoS) attacks on affected systems using the following flooding method(s):

• SYN flooding

Download Routine

This worm connects to the following Web site(s) to download and execute a malicious file:

• http://two.{BLOCKED}raoi.com/serv8.exe - detected as TROJ_FAKEAV.SM8
• http://two.{BLOCKED}raoi.com/dq.exe - detected as TROJ_FAKEAV.SM8
• http://two.{BLOCKED}raoi.com/ms.exe - detected as WORM_KOLAB.SML

It then executes the downloaded files. As a result, malicious routines of the downloaded files are exhibited on the affected system.

Other Details

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

• hub3.{BLOCKED}12tgame.com
• hub3.{BLOCKED}ss.net
• hub3.{BLOCKED}me.com

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

Note :

It does not have backdoor routine.

It does not have information-stealing capabilities.

It does not have rootkit capabilities.