Home / malware Worm:W32/Sober.Y
First posted on 23 July 2010.
Source: SecurityHomeAliases :
There are no other names known for Worm:W32/Sober.Y.
Explanation :
A standalone malicious program which uses computer or network resources to make complete copies of itself. May include code or other malware to damage both the system and the network.
Additional DetailsThe Sober.Y worm was found on November 16th, 2005, however it became widespread only on November 21st. This Sober variant is similar to both Sober.K, that appeared on February 21st, 2005 and the latest variants that appeared in the middle of November 2005, Sober.K and Sober.T.
Like the previous variants, this one sends itself inside a ZIP archive as an attachment in e-mail messages with English or German texts. Sober.Y is written in Visual Basic. The worm's file is a UPX packed PE executable about 55 kilobytes long. The unpacked worm's file size is around 198 kilobytes.
This time the author of Sober worm changed the text string that is used to decrypt data strings in the worm's body, but he did not change the encryption algorithm.
Installation
Just after being run by a user the worm shows a fake error messagebox:
Then it creates a subfolder named 'WinSecurity' in Windows folder and copies itself there 3 times with the following names:
€ services.exe € csrss.exe € smss.exe
In addition the worm creates the following files in the same folder:
€ mssock1.dli € mssock2.dli € mssock3.dli € winmem1.ory € winmem2.ory € winmem3.ory € socket1.ifo € socket2.ifo € socket3.ifo
The first 6 files are used to store collected e-mail addresses, the last 3 files are used to store the UUEncoded worm's body.
The worm then adds startup keys for the copied "services.exe" file into System Registry:
€ [HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
" Windows" = "%WinDir%\WinSecurity\services.exe" € [HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"_Windows" = "%WinDir%\WinSecurity\services.exe"
The Sober.Y worm creates a few empty files in Windows System folder with the following names:
€ nonrunso.ber € langeinf.lin € runstop.rst € rubezahl.rub € bbvmwxxf.hml € filesms.fms
These files are used to deactivate previous Sober variants. The worm blocks access to its files and re-creates its startup keys in the Registry if they are deleted.
E-mail (Propagation)
Sober.Y worm sends e-mail messages with English and German texts and its file attached. The attachment is a ZIP archive containing the worm's executable.
To collect e-mail addresses the worm scans files with the following extensions:
pmr phtm stm slk inbox imb csv bak imh xhtml imm imh cms
nws vcf ctl dhtm cgi pp ppt msg jsp oft vbs uin ldb abc
pst cfg mdw mbx mdx mda adp nab fdb vap dsp ade sln dsw
mde frm bas adr cls ini ldif log mdb xml wsh tbb abx
abd adb pl rtf mmf doc ods nch xls nsf txt wab eml hlp
mht nfo php asp shtml dbx
The collected e-mail addresses are stored in "mssock*.dli" and "winmem*.ory" files that are created in the same folder where the main worm's executable file is located.
The worm ignores e-mail addresses if they contain any of the following strings:
ntp- ntp@ ntp. test@ @www @from. support smtp- @smtp.
gold-certs ftp. .dial. .ppp. anyone subscribe announce
@gmetref sql. someone nothing you@ user@ reciver@ somebody
secure whatever@ whoever@ anywhere yourname mustermann@
.kundenserver. mailer-daemon variabel noreply -dav law2
.sul.t- .qmail@ t-ipconnect t-dialin ipt.aol time freeav
@ca. abuse winrar domain. host. viren bitdefender spybot
detection ewido. emsisoft linux google @foo. winzip
@example. bellcore. @arin mozilla iana@ iana- @iana @avp
icrosoft. @sophos @panda @kaspers free-av antivir virus
verizon. @ikarus. @nai. @messagelab nlpmail01. clock
When the worm sends an e-mail to an address that contains "gmx." domain or has the domain suffix ".de", ".li", ".ch" or ".at", it composes messages in German, otherwise the worm composes messages in English.
It should be noted that along with the "usual" messages that look like fake bounces, password change notifications, Paris Hilton video ads and so on, the worm sends messages that look like they come from FBI or CIA. The From field of such messages contains any of the following:
€ Department@fbi.gov (also can be Office@, Admin@, Mail@, Post@) € Department@cia.gov (also can be Office@, Admin@, Mail@, Post@)
The Subject field contains any of the following:
€ You visit illegal websites € Your IP was logged
The body text is:
Dear Sir/Madam,
we have logged your IP-address on more than 30 illegal Websites.
Important:
Please answer our questions!
The list of questions are attached.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Allison
*** Federal Bureau of Investigation -FBI-
*** 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 3220
*** Washington, DC 20535
*** phone: (202) 324-3000
If the worm uses @cia.gov address, the end of the message is different:
€ ++++ Central Intelligence Agency -CIA- € ++++ Office of Public Affairs € ++++ Washington, D.C. 20505 € ++++ phone: (703) 482-0623 € ++++ 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., US Eastern time
The attachment names can be:
€ question_list.zip € list.zip
The similar message in German, but this time from BKA. The From field of such messages contains any of the following:
€ Downloads@bka.bund.de (also can be BKA@, Internet@, Post@, Anzeige@, BKA.Bund@)
The Subject field contains any of the following:
€ Ermittlungsverfahren wurde eingeleitet € Sie besitzen Raubkopien
The body text is:
Sehr geehrte Dame, sehr geehrter Herr,
das Herunterladen von Filmen, Software und MP3s ist illegal und
somit strafbar. Wir moechten Ihnen hiermit vorab mitteilen, dass
Ihr Rechner unter der IP erfasst wurde. Der Inhalt Ihres Rechner
wurde als Beweismittel sichergestellt und es wird ein
Ermittlungsverfahren gegen Sie eingleitet.
Die Strafanzeige und die Moeglichkeit zur Stellungnahme wird
Ihnen in den naechsten Tagen schriftlich zugestellt.
Aktenzeichen NR.:# (siehe Anhang)
Hochachtungsvoll
i.A. Juergen Stock
--- Bundeskriminalamt BKA
--- Referat LS 2
--- 65173 Wiesbaden
--- Tel.: +49 (0)611 - 55 - 12331 oder
--- Tel.: +49 (0)611 - 55 - 0
The attachment name can be:
€ Akte.zip
Here's an example of a message sent by the worm:
The worm's executable file is located inside ZIP archives attached to all infected messages. To get infected a user has to extract and run the worm's file.
Payload
Sober.Y worm terminates applications that have the following substrings in their names:
€ microsoftanti € gcas € gcip € giantanti € inetupd. € nod32kui € nod32. € fxsbr € avwin. € guardgui. € aswclnr € stinger € hijack € sober € brfix € s_t_i_n € s-t-i-n
Then the worm shows a messagebox that looks like that:
This trick is done to persuade a user that no infection was detected on his computer by his anti-virus or a virus removal tool.
The worm can also download and run files on an infected computer.
In addition the worm contacts numerous time servers to syncronize its activities.Last update 23 July 2010
