Flash game silently installs a keylogger (Oct 24, 2014)

The Dell SonicWall Threats Research team has discovered a malware posing as a game. To remain discrete to unsuspecting users, this malicious software uses the following icon:

Infection Cycle:

Upon execution the malware drops the following files:

• %Temp%Install.exe [Detected as GAV: Agent.BIRT (Trojan)]
• %Temp%dog & cat.exe (non-malicious flash game file)

It then launches the flash game.

And also silently executes Install.exe which installs a popular commercial keylogger and creates the following files:

• %APPDATA%SMDQDKIJE.exe [Detected as GAV: Ardamax.M (Trojan)]
• %APPDATA%SMDQDKIJE.01 [Detected as GAV: Ardamax.NBQ_8 (Trojan)]
• %APPDATA%SMDQDKIJE.02 [Detected as GAV: Ardamax.NBQ_7 (Trojan)]

In order to start after reboot the malware adds the following key to the registry:

• HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun [ije start] “%APPDATA%SMDQDKIJE.exe”

Keylogger log files are saved in the following location:

• %APPDATA%MEMWeb_yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss.html (web activity log )
• %APPDATA%MEMKeys_yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss.html (key strokes)
• %APPDATA%MEMApp_yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss.html (running processes)
• %APPDATA%MEMScreen_yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss.jpg (screenshots)

These are then periodically sent to a remote ftp server:

Below is an example of what kind of information is sent over to the remote server:

Log files are subsequently deleted from the victim’s machine after successful data transfer.

We urge our users to always be vigilant and cautious when downloading and installing any application particularly if you are not certain of the source.

Dell SonicWALL Gateway AntiVirus provides protection against this threat with the following signatures:

• GAV: Poison.BL (Trojan)
• GAV: Agent.BIRT (Trojan)
• GAV: Ardamax.M (Trojan)
• GAV: Ardamax.NBQ_7 (Trojan)
• GAV: Ardamax.NBQ_8 (Trojan)

Security News

The SonicWall Capture Labs Threat Research Team gathers, analyzes and vets cross-vector threat information from the SonicWall Capture Threat network, consisting of global devices and resources, including more than 1 million security sensors in nearly 200 countries and territories. The research team identifies, analyzes, and mitigates critical vulnerabilities and malware daily through in-depth research, which drives protection for all SonicWall customers. In addition to safeguarding networks globally, the research team supports the larger threat intelligence community by releasing weekly deep technical analyses of the most critical threats to small businesses, providing critical knowledge that defenders need to protect their networks.