Just Because It’s Old Doesn’t Mean You Throw It Away (Including Malware!) | FortiGuard Labs

Art, automobiles, and wine are often associated with things that appreciate in value as they age. Malware isn’t usually thought of this way, as most threat actors strive to keep their tools as current as possible with new lures and exploitation techniques.

However, every once in a while, a campaign appears that turns this paradigm on its head. FortiGuard Labs came across one such recent campaign using the MyDoom worm.

MyDoom (also known as Novarg and Mimail) was first discovered back in 2004. And while it has seen some updates and modifications since its introduction, it is an anachronism in the malware world that continues to operate well beyond expectations.

Affected Platforms: Windows
Impacted Users: Windows users
Impact: Potential to deploy additional malware for additional purposes
Severity Level: Medium

Typical phishing e-mail

The typical MyDoom phishing e-mail contains subjects referencing a delivery error or testing. Email headers contain a rejection reason and a custom “Content-Type”. There is also an attachment that may or may not be zipped. This attachment (unless zipped) is the MyDoom executable.

FortiGuard Labs encountered the following message subjects in our recent investigation:

  • Click me baby, one more time
  • RETURNED MAIL: SEE TRANSCRIPT FOR DETAILS
  • Isnydosj anhr
  • ayownizdiitis
  • Delivery failed
  • Test
  • Delivery reports about your e-mail
  • Status
  • Returned mail: Data format error
  • RETURNED MAIL: DATA FORMAT ERROR
  • Returned mail: see transcript for details
  • Mail System Error – Returned Mail

The following attachment names were also found to be used repeatedly:

  • document.zip
  • transcript.zip
  • letter.zip
  • attachment.zip
  • .zip
  • message.zip
  • message.scr
  • golfasian.com
  • readme.scr
  • mail.zip
  • text.cmd
  • <random number>@7686f6a96.com
  • file.zip
  • attachment.scr

Typical attachment

The MyDoom executables attached to its phishing e-mails have an extension hidden by default by most Windows deployments (.cmd, .scr, .com, etc.). This increases the chances that users won’t identify it as malicious.

Despite the extension, the file is a 32-bit Windows executable packed using the UPX (Ultimate Packer for Executables) packer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPX) to compress and make it more difficult to analyze.

With that being said, UPX has been around for quite some time. When used without modification, it is quite easy to decompress the original executable using the tool itself.

MyDoom Unpacked

The packer decompresses and executes the actual MyDoom code. Upon execution, an attempt to alter the Windows firewall settings is made.

A user logged on to the system would see a request to grant access for the executable to communicate out through the Firewall.

MyDoom next makes a copy of itself, places it in the “Temp” folder (C:Users<user>AppDataLocalTemp), and changes the name to a known Windows application/process. In this case, it used “lsass.exe”.

It also creates a file full of garbage text that is not referenced again once created.

MyDoom communicates over port 1042 to both send and receive.

It rotates through a number of possible C2 domains in an attempt to locate an active one. As part of the legacy of spreading through file-sharing utilities, MyDoom also litters the “C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft Shared” folder with multiple versions of itself. It renames itself as some now very old and obsolete applications (e.g., Kazaa Lite) with a random name or phrase attached.

Application names include:

  • Kazaa Lite
  • Harry Potter
  • ICQ 4 Lite
  • WinRAR.v.3.2
  • Winamp 5.0 (en) Crack
  • Winamp 5.0 (en)

Conclusion

Despite its advanced age, there are still fresh infections of MyDoom occurring in the wild, along with corresponding phishing events. This goes to show that even older malware can still be dangerous no matter their age

Fortinet Protections

Fortinet customers are already protected from this malware through FortiGuard’s Web Filtering, AntiVirus, FortiMail, FortiClient, and FortiEDR services:

FortiGuard customers are protected against this latest MyDoom campaign, which is blocked by FortiMail. The following (AV) signature detects the malware samples mentioned in this blog

W32/MyDoom.M@mm

W32/Mydoom.E!tr

The FortiGuard AntiVirus service is supported by FortiGate, FortiMail, FortiClient, and FortiEDR. Customers running current AntiVirus updates are protected.

The WebFiltering client blocks all network-based URIs.

Fortinet has multiple solutions designed to help train users to understand and detect phishing threats, including the FortiPhish Phishing Simulation Service, which uses real-world simulations to help organizations test user awareness and vigilance to phishing threats and to train and reinforce proper practices when users encounter targeted phishing attacks.

In addition to these protections, we suggest that organizations have their end users undergo our FREE NSE training: NSE 1 – Information Security Awareness. It includes a module on Internet threats designed to help end users learn how to identify and protect themselves from various types of phishing attacks.

IOCs

File-based IOCs:

Filename

SHA256

9ed08@7686f6a96.com

5a6c1929f55baff2e786336c07f02c5d13194ff765073dcdfcae1b0cb53da5bc

5713a@7686f6a96.com

1b1e2421dc3d96a8b9dd58d9cc74730c966250df7c33a1e0df50d983e674b7bc

atpysig.exe

6223e126a65ba888182d3369adacc7268bd78555f0426653f5b5dd963d4c31a4

attachment.doc.scr

ad37758c362a38a8718837ece40ed5699e40de11ed58a586c2a6a6d8bb5251bf

attachment.scr

9fc0179c7407476ced89b6124fa52f10d178f3a07e3d50c860b1ced98fb77541

attachment.doc.scr

ad37758c362a38a8718837ece40ed5699e40de11ed58a586c2a6a6d8bb5251bf

ATTACHMENT.SCR

1302161ca791b3fc01188582a075bbfcfeb5f28715ad527be0fe625ec452b1eb

attachment.scr

9fc0179c7407476ced89b6124fa52f10d178f3a07e3d50c860b1ced98fb77541

ATTACHMENT.SCR

1302161ca791b3fc01188582a075bbfcfeb5f28715ad527be0fe625ec452b1eb

document.doc

31fd079696a071a48fd4a66588adb22e36dd96028792fb416bcee0f099d6e5cb

document.doc

5e99396cf134fea102470525d5105afb697b9131d891990e2dc8c9e5e34f8165

file.htm.scr

009ac15d56c3a5149f10c833b5cc191eede4d33485cab7bc3dd94675a462608c

golfasian.com

9fcf4b0e00d20060274861b41b2c13b68dfedbd2ac0012436b13960b2a570d4f

golfasian.com

34d9e11e71fe18f9eb290461714826e1069a129d44db25c6c4fe581f883cbc07

golfasian.com

6155f0562adfaa75cf46f674cf094d3f23c27b38c8009b6982f48ca4e77c95b1

golfasian.com

92018aff6737899f94aed2461b6e4182383b6677be2e8d4f82098265d74fb913

html.pif

eba7ec36cb9cc3c3677f5325ee9f755fefe885235849aede61a0b130a9f6255b

html.pif

d438e3ec7bd0fa4b231a6a1704d89f117d3b6b6ba342915b4d095027d0fe4c90

john2@golfasian.com

a966f61a86dae4737f99d5b7668b0fcab3124125d2030faa08855ae12c9525ee

letter.exe

48c70041def3bf288f7f85ee96eb59a2f7d965963a66e0c86fb3c88b3e079386

letter.scr

2ddc70753893167b7b5d15c1e3cf6f22b6d8a0ee8a4aaea93c40655608f6fc75

mail.html

20b372391f4d0fd9e4f69fc950456b557fab27f7bbbdeede36cff404e35614aa

message.bat

7b596caceaf2e8a139c01eaf67e5e52ff3247ca6d20112ea9ce59a02a1a5bb7d

message.scr

2744c29d98a144fabda0ac75264235cd82b798f3bd5a56fab2ad28ec218b94c8

Message.scr

eb5bfbb3be5300c1231a8ece93d239b7a02a4f308d7efe85d604f06d3aca57ad

readme.scr

8d4dcf463e7a69cd1b3039779d9d36c8a4669444b30d3261f876b7720bdb6752

text.cmd

5cb5efc8e0be0bf32eb73fbdaebedacf70cba946f5dfaea7166dcd0f4ca5989f

tracy@golfasian.com

c12e27b30706dd1d11e5822285e209a187724148a682d178f1e2bc3f8d670ea7

transcript.htm.pif

2ddc70753893167b7b5d15c1e3cf6f22b6d8a0ee8a4aaea93c40655608f6fc75

transcript.txt

6bbcc015c5a72b03601f8087c57024a7e74975dfb567b867c3404958e4239c9c

txt.pif

d599d4343fe3d831bcad8ea7305f050608a182f99636ea9e87c9400d19fae043

txt.scr

f5dc449255319cebd38ce255060a8019e0f5697de8ac31353c7d067d9e1218e6

document.zip

11a86a2388c501773b52ae79ee1f7504caca6c25d835d40b8afc9ebe29c7a26d

.zip

942ef9da07de7d70c2efcfc20e375e6919a521d44ddabf9369042aea1553f712

message.zip

10502c24bb63af929da22ec306f44f9e557b4e3bbf588afd1a7f190aa9840938

letter.zip

21ee754775ca9f76b2d18d0b87722ffa0c9ab0f676e4aa6ac4881dff580087ac

.zip

505b177a6c24c69a9fda1e78db7421fad4893d7c07e3cea91897decfbc4510be

message.zip

ad29b1c0423a878758a444ad6bf38aa2ad276a98f0ca552b475d890db631f48b

file.zip

113db96ddc72fb3300e981c7691cd202d3d0a5b097e84cd41eee6a54d868bf31

transcript.zip

3df99ae8f2083419fd030c42ca6729b6e5319df6aca1204d7081ce6ea91c69da

transcript.zip

04123ec908c4a60282fa35fed76a377b22a49b6f9bfaf5a81121fd7204b4b83d

.zip

4864f84ea0f6939751310a2cca43e71a57171f37679cb7853d29a083b1617a09

.zip

35bb66f1cc9e820ef50c22d0abb0f5f7ba8724bebb4a5a795e68790943742928

.zip

9bf413a9d9b3b17767f0a93450f834947475765b2fd1ecccaa943f8ce9d58082 

document.zip

9a2f837a8adb16632ce4ec3c8b02037a4e96e66e6737ef1169afb2e48e46aa6a

letter.zip

bfaf49a691792a29024a75119a9841caacefb306494ca011a42b46c12ca65895

.zip

59ad199d81590be7b83768227fe3a79b115f6c978b8715864ae0e22e5d324e36

mail.zip

ecda9c446dd6aa0018cd5fc9c99ba846484f8d2a81d7f97167d89b890e4d5c1a

attachment.zip

e745cc1ae5a89a9f2b4b0eabbac342520703b03f68dafeb6d29194fe19e899e9 

attachment.zip

1f442b9ff3c9225e3eaa9c74d16b3a74117bb66e1d372ca15b6154d386a93e57

Network-Based IOCs:

IOC

IOC type

15.244.197.9:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

141.240.203.6:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.115.197.163:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

67.120.102.206:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

220.234.104.158:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

166.77.123.68:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

198.89.160.22:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.98.11.12:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

67.121.94.10:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.24.69.27:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

129.204.109.121:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

70.241.87.215:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.80.195.68:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.9.79.129:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.14.59.199:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

216.114.194.30:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.228.15.126:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.100.121.101:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.63.9.76:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

65.6.113.38:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

141.240.211.237:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.83.199.36:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

66.248.57.65:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.59.127.133:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.150.138.126:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

141.154.253.115:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

66.43.244.133:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

68.158.45.83:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

152.16.43.135:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

129.81.101.242:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.102.137.19:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.102.153.27:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

67.171.253.156:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.75.188.252:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

216.128.188.41:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.126.107.216:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

16.125.202.53:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

162.28.185.188:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

195.75.252.98:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

68.223.45.7:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

24.148.141.102:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

141.240.190.28:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

129.243.132.29:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

148.193.135.228:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

24.190.210.189:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

12.166.196.8:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

15.228.161.161:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

220.234.104.158:1042

Attempted C2 Connection

Source: https://www.fortinet.com/blog/threat-research/just-because-its-old-doesnt-mean-you-throw-it-away-including-malware