|
|
| PROBLEM: | A new worm named VBS.AnnaKournikova is spreading in the wild. It runs under the windows scripting host and uses the Outlook program to send itself as an attachment to everyone in your address book. The e-mail message has the subject: "Here you have, ;o)" and body: "Hi:", "Check This!". The attachment is named: "AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs" though the .vbs extension may be hidden. |
| PLATFORM: | Windows platforms with the Windows Scripting Host and Microsoft Outlook installed. |
| DAMAGE: | Does not damage files but sends an e-mail to everyone in your address book which may clog mailservers. |
| SOLUTION: | If you receive an e-mail with the subject, body and attachment mentioned above, do not run the attachment. If the attachment is not run, the worm will not propagate. |
| VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT: |
HIGH. The worm is actively spreading and most antivirus programs do not yet detect it. |
The VBS.AnnaKournikova Worm
A new worm has been seen in the wild and is spreading rapidly. The worm is similar to the LoveLetter Worm but is much simpler and is not damaging to systems other than to use them to spread itself. The worm arrives as an e-mail message from someone you know. The e-mail has the following characteristics:
Subject: Here you have, ;o)
Body:
Attachment: AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs
The worm executes under the Windows Scripting Host and propagates using the Microsoft Outlook program. When the attachment is executed the worm creates the registry entry:
It then copies itself into the file
where %windir% is your current Windows installation directory (\Windows, \Winnt, depends on where you installed Windows).
The worm checks the registry key:
To see if it is 1. This is to prevent it from sending itself out more than once.
It then opens Outlook and sends itself to everyone in all your address books.
After sending itself out, it checks the date, and if it is January 26, it opens a web browser to the website:
which has an odd front page containing a hidden window. The hidden window is currently blank.
Lastly, the worm starts an infinite loop that watches over the running copy of the worm and replaces it whenever it is deleted. Rebooting your system will kill this loop as will killing the wscript.exe process.
Removing the worm requires a system reboot to kill the running worm, removal of the e-mail message and its attachment, removal of the AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs file in the windows directory and removal of the two registry keys:
The registry keys have no effect on your operating system and could be left in place without causing any harm. The second registry key with a value of 1 prevents a future infection with this worm from spreading.
See CIAC Bulletin K-039: VBS.LoveLetter.A Worm (http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/k-039.shtml) for information on detecting or disabling the Windows Scripting Host.
For additional information, check out Microsoft's Outlook 2000 SR-1 Update: E-mail Security which describes Microsoft's approach to addressing .vbs and other executable attachments.
Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7 x 24)
FAX: +1 925-423-8002
STU-III: +1 925-423-2604
E-mail: ciac@llnl.gov
World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/
http://ciac.llnl.gov
(same machine -- either one will work)
Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org
ciac.llnl.gov
(same machine -- either one will work)