Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability

TipsMake.com - According to the latest research of X Force security group under IBM Internet Security Systems, security holes in PDF files will help hackers easily put malware inside Windows system . That is the appearance of the ZeuS bot, but without stopping there, this security hole also contains another potential danger - the worm.

The code or executable files in the form of * .exe that are embedded in PDF files will be activated when users use the Launch Actions / Launch File function. Although Adobe Reader has issued a message asking if the user wants to execute the files, those messages have been changed so that users are not suspicious or aware of what will happen to them. their system.

Collected from a variety of sources, including X-Force's report, it is now spreading spam mailboxes with the same title as " Setting for your mailbox are changed ". Emails like this mention that users should open the attached PDF file for complete instructions and details about reconfiguring their email account. And many people have accidentally fallen into this dangerous trap when believing in the announcement and opening the attached PDF file. As a result, malicious code in the PDF file immediately creates the game.exe file and executes it in the user's system.

Below is a preliminary description of hackers attack tactics:

Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability Picture 1
Spam emails contain malicious code when users open

The target is the Microsoft Windows operating system. When the user opens the PDF file, they immediately activate the cmd.exe application, with the purpose of calling out two scripts.vbs and batscript.vbs:

Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability Picture 2

When opening the PDF file, the user will see the following bulletin board appear, but has been cleverly disguised with gaps as shown below:

Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability Picture 3

But when pulled up, users will see the full message as follows:

Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability Picture 4

Of course, if they want to be activated, they must have an impact from the user, and the hackers have carefully 'lured' them with the above 'secure' information. Users just need to select ' Open ', the embedded malicious code will immediately create a strange file named game.exe with the following form:

Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability Picture 5

The script.vbs script contains the executable file (this is game.exe ), encoded into VBS string. This process is really confusing and confusing, but the value 077, 090 is actually ASCII standard encoding of two characters M and Z, this is the first 2 bytes of any * .exe file of the executable. Microsoft Windows platform:

Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability Picture 6

This code continues to do the writing of strings into files:

Worm can infect Windows system via PDF vulnerability Picture 7

The next code ( batscript.vbs ) will execute this game.exe file. This is actually another variant of a worm known as Win32 / Auraax or Win32 / Emold . It will automatically copy to C: Program FilesMicrosoft Commonsvchost.exe , and then, use the HKLMMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionsexplorer.exe key , to install itself into the debug application of explorer.exe, and of course it will automatically Dynamic is activated when the user boots the Windows system. At the same time, it also automatically creates 1 rootkit driver to replace the asyncmac.sys file in the system. Besides, part of this malware will continue to spread, copying itself to other partitions of the entire drive (including mobile devices) with the autorun mechanism, it will automatically create files. autorun.inf and system.exe on every partition it finds, set and adjust the necessary parameters of autorun.inf to automatically activate the system.exe process.

But actually the problem only occurs when users do not pay attention to the suspicious bulletin board, so Adobe does not rank this vulnerability in a serious manner. Adobe thinks that a useful function only becomes dangerous when users use it incorrectly.