Over the past 3 or 4 days I have received at least 3 copies of a new virus
which was first identified on 1st August.

THis comes in the form of an e-mail apparently from "admin" at your e-mail
system (e.g. "[log in to unmask]" in my case) though this is in fact a fake
address - as is clear if you switch to a "full headers" setting.

The message comes as a warning to me that my e-mail account will be
discontinued shortly but says that I can keep the account if I open the
attachment to the e-mail.  However, this attachment contains a virus.

THIS IS NOT A HOAX: it is most important that you do not open the
attachment - just delete the whole e-mail, and check that (1) your
Windows security patches are up to date, and (2) that your anti-virus
system is also up to date.

I paste below some details from the Norton antivirus web-site.


Patrick Boylan

=====================


W32.Mimail.A@mm is a worm that spreads by email and steals information
from a user's machine. The email has the following characteristics:

Subject: your account %s

Attachment: message.zip

NOTE: %s refers to a variable string.


The threat captures information from certain windows on a user's
desktop and emails it to specific mail addresses.

This threat takes advantage of known vulnerabilities(MS02-15 and MS03-14).

A Microsoft patch is located at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/330994/default.asp.
We encourage system administrators to apply the Microsoft patch to prevent
infection by this worm.

The worm is packed with UPX.

Virus definitions with a version number of 50801r, also known as
August 1, 2003 rev 18, or greater will detect this threat.

Symantec Security Response has created a tool to remove [log in to unmask]


Also Known As:
WORM_MIMAIL.A [Trend],
W32/Mimail@MM [McAfee],
Win32.Mimail.A [CA], W32/Mimail-A [Sophos]

Type:  Worm
Infection Length:  approximately 16kb

Systems Affected:  Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000,
Windows XP, Windows Me

Systems Not Affected:  Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX, Linux

CVE References:  CAN-2002-0980, CAN-2002-0077





Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater) *
 August 01, 2003


Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate<TRADE MARK SIGN>) **
 August 01, 2003


*
 Intelligent Updater definitions are released daily, but require manual download and installation.
Click here to download manually.

**
 LiveUpdate virus definitions are usually released every Wednesday.
Click here for instructions on using LiveUpdate.







Wild:

Number of infections: 50 - 999
Number of sites: More than 10
Geographical distribution: Low
Threat containment: Easy
Removal: Moderate
 Threat Metrics


Wild:
High
 Damage:
Low
 Distribution:
High



Distribution

Subject of email: your account %s
Name of attachment: message.zip


When W32.Mimail.A@mm is run, it does the following:


Copies itself to %Windir%\Videodrv.exe.


Adds the value:

"VideoDriver"="%Windir%\videodrv.exe"

to the registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

so that W32.Mimail.A@mm runs when you start Windows.


Collects email addresses from all the files except those with the following file extensions:
.bmp
.jpg
.gif
.exe
.dll
.avi
.mpg
.mp3
.vxd
.ocx
.psd
.tif
.zip
.rar
.pdf
.cab
.wav
.com


Writes all the email addresses to the file, %Windir%\eml.tmp, if it can resolve www.google.com to any IP address.


Captures text from specific windows and sends the data to email addresses that the worm contains.


Uses its own SMTP server to spread by email.
The email has the following characteristics:

From: admin@<current domain> (The from address may be spoofed to appear that it is coming from the current domain)

Subject: your account %s

Message:
Hello there,
I would like to inform you about important information regarding your email address. This email address will be expiring. Please read attachment for details.

Best regards,
Administrator

Attachment: Message.zip


Message.zip contains only one file, Message.htm, which uses a code base exploit to create a copy of the worm named Foo.exe in the Temporary Internet Files folder, and then runs it. The compression method of this file inside the zip file is stored so that compression is not used at all.

Information about this vulnerability and a Microsoft patch is located at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;330994. We encourage system administrators to apply the Microsoft patch to prevent infection by this worm.


When the HTML file is executed, it will cause the following registry key to be created:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Code Store Database\Distribution Units\{11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111}


The worm creates two additional files in the %Windir% folder:
Zip.tmp: This is a temporary copy of message.zip (30,079 bytes).
Exe.tmp: This is a temporary copy of message.html (29,957 bytes).







Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":

Turn off and remove unneeded services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical, such as an FTP server, telnet, and a Web server. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended threats have less avenues of attack and you have fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
If a blended threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread viruses, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
Isolate infected computers quickly to prevent further compromising your organization. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.


Removal using the W32.Mimail.A@mm Removal Tool
Symantec Security Response has created a tool to remove W32.Mimail.A@mm, which is the easiest way to remove this threat.

Manual Removal
As an alternative to using the removal tool, you can manually remove this threat.

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines.


Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP).
Update the virus definitions.
Run a full system scan and delete all the files detected as [log in to unmask]
Delete the value that was added to the registry.

For specific details on each of these steps, read the following instructions.

1. Disabling System Restore (Windows Me/XP)
If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP, we recommend that you temporarily turn off System Restore. Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

For instructions on how to turn off System Restore, read your Windows documentation, or one of the following articles:
"How to disable or enable Windows Me System Restore"
"How to turn off or turn on Windows XP System Restore"

For additional information, and an alternative to disabling Windows Me System Restore, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, "Antivirus Tools Cannot Clean Infected Files in the _Restore Folder," Article ID: Q263455.

2. Updating the virus definitions
Symantec Security Response fully tests all the virus definitions for quality assurance before they are posted to our servers. There are two ways to obtain the most recent virus definitions:
Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions: These virus definitions are posted to the LiveUpdate servers once each week (usually on Wednesdays), unless there is a major virus outbreak. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by LiveUpdate, refer to the Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate).
Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted on U.S. business days (Monday through Friday). You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by the Intelligent Updater, refer to the Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater).

The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are available: Read "How to update virus definition files using the Intelligent Updater" for detailed instructions.

3. Scanning for and deleting the infected files
Start your Symantec antivirus program and make sure that it is configured to scan all the files.
For Norton AntiVirus consumer products: Read the document, "How to configure Norton AntiVirus to scan all files."
For Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise products: Read the document, "How to verify that a Symantec Corporate antivirus product is set to scan all files."
Run a full system scan.
If any files are detected as infected with W32.Mimail.A@mm, click Delete.

4. Deleting the value from the registry

CAUTION: Symantec strongly recommends that you back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified keys only. Read the document, "How to make a backup of the Windows registry," for instructions.

Click Start, and then click Run. (The Run dialog box appears.)
Type regedit

Then click OK. (The Registry Editor opens.)


Navigate to the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run


In the right pane, delete the value:

"VideoDriver"="%Windir%\videodrv.exe"


Exit the Registry Editor.





Revision History:


August 4, 2003: Added CVE references.
August 2, 2003: Added information regarding capturing text from certain windows and sending this information to specific email addresses that the worm contains.
August 1, 2003: Added link to the removal tool.





Write-up by: Atli Gudmundsson and Scott Gettis






----------------------------------------
Michael J Horne
Email: [log in to unmask]
University of Hull

=========================================================
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