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MyDoom.C Making Its Way Across The Net
Iphtashu Fitz writes "eWeek is reporting that the latest variant of MyDoom is now making its way across the internet and may have been responsible for some disruptions to Microsofts website over the weekend. This new variant apparently doesn't spread via e-mail but instead scans for machines with an open TCP port 3127. This version appears to be a very stripped down version of its earlier cousins since it also doesn't leave a backdoor into infected machines nor does it have a shutoff date for when to stop attacking Microsoft." Reader billstewart adds links to reports at Australia's ABC News and carried by Reuters; Unloaded adds a link to CNET's coverage.
What a stupid name for a virus. The writer must be planning to get caught.
I would think that mydoom.c would be the source file, so it should be alot easier to reverse engineer.
./mydoom
gcc mydoom.c -o mydoom
Unknown host pong.
The original MyDoom proved that no matter how much we warn users not to run surprise executable attachments, they do any way. And also proved how many users aren't running any anti-virus at all.
Therefore, it's not a far stretch to assume that the 50,000 to 75,000 machines that are still infected by MyDoom.A or MyDoom.B will catch DoomJuice with a 100% infection ratio. Those machines by definition do not have an anti-virus program that's been updated recently enough to capture the original MyDoom virus, so DoomJuice will be able to walk in through the backdoor at port 3127 with nobody gaurding that door.
The author of MyDoom has basically created a network of zombies that he/she/it has full control of without the knowledge of any of the infected users. And now, this author has demonstrated the ability to send a patch-virus out with new updated instructions.
Right now, this patch seems to not have much of a payload. But, we don't know if we've seen its full payload yet, and there's certainly the possible of DoomJuice2 coming out with a worse payload.
To put it lightly... these 50,000 to 75,000 zombies need to be pulled from the Internet stat.
Just from the description in the /. blurb this seems to have a very different purpose from A and B. This seems like a script kiddie just for the hell of it kind of thing more than a spam tool.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
Does anyone know if it is slamming the msn messenger service as well? I havn't been able to connect to it recently, and it seems to be a network wide outage, since other people are having problems as well....
--
Apart from the fact that it uses the backdoor created by MyDoom to spread, it doesnt have enough in common with MyDoom to be a variant of it, which is probably why on the CNET link it only mentions the name Doomjuice.
The MyDoom.C name used in links such as the ABC one is probably for good headlines
3127 is apparently the backdoor created by the other mydoom viruses. As another poster mentioned, its a giant botnet, now at someone's disposal.
About the time the first version of this virus set sail, I noticed a huge spike in the number of Backdoor/Subseven probes against my firewall (still ongoing). Is this little bastard responsible for that, or is this caused by another issue altogether?
Be excellent to each other. And... PARTY ON, DUDES!
MyDoom.C's effects seem to already be felt. My girlfriend's been complaining that she can't get onto MSN all night, and sure enough messenger.msn.com is completely unresponsive, as was Hotmail a few hours ago (though, it seems to be up now). I wish I could just convince her to use Jabber.
But Maaa! Everyone else has a
I never understood why viruses/worms/whatever bother to include shutoff dates. "hum, I really hate SCO, so I'm going to DDoS them, but only for a few days" Why?
--I don't want the world, I just want your half.
This version appears to be a very stripped down version of it's earlier cousins since it also doesn't leave a backdoor into infected machines
It doesn't open a backdoor, as TCP port 3127 is the port that the MyDoom.A and .B backdoor opens.
This isn't really a variant of the same virus as it only attacks machines already infected with MyDoom, rather than spreading via email.
Did you happen to notice the part where it said This new variant relies upon a backdoor left in place by the original email spread virus.
I'm not sure what to think about this: How many times can you tell people never to open attachments until you just give up and accept that a certain casualty rate is to be expected? (As a sidenote -- I party blame Netscape and other email proggies that send forwards or replies as attachments rather than as inline quoted text. This makes uses accustomed to opening attachments).
Are there any real applications that use port 3127, or can we safely block that port at our firewalls?
Aunt Bertha switches on her 2 GHz supercomputer, and hooks up to the Internet with a connection speed that would have rivaled an ISP in the early 1990's. She sees a pretty icon in her inbox, so she points and clicks, unleashing some spammer's latest mass-mailing creation. By the time Bertha goes and gets a triscut, she has already spammed a million Internet neighbours.
Anyone else see why the Internet is full of crap? And if you think it's as easy to control as "blocking port 25" ... ha ha. You wish! The worm only has to send mail via the ISP's outgoing mail server (remember... the one you reminded me "I should be using")
So no, controlling this spam/virus menace isn't quite that easy. Whatever method you use to legitimately send mail, the worms will follow that same method.
This is the perfect opportunity for someone to fix American Idol, by getting all those zombie computers to dial and vote for their favorite singers!
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
Unlike MyDoom, which is exploiting Microsoft weaknesses, the interesting thing about Doomjuice and Deadhat (aka Vesser) is that they're scanning for the back doors left by MyDoom.A and MyDoom.B and using them to take over. The good news is that they're only attacking infected machines (and in a way that's easy to block), but the bad news is that parasites like these can add nasty payloads to viruses that were fast but not particularly nasty themselves. (That doesn't mean that these parasites have done that, but they can.) According to the article on F-Secure, Vesser / Deadhat turns off many kinds of anti-virus and firewall software, leaving the machine more vulnerable, and adding a backdoor of its own (but protecting it with crypto, which is the proper thing for an evil virus to do :-)
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Anyone know if MyDoom's protocol for port 3127 is documented anywhere? If the virus writer can send it patches, then surely we can too :) We could have this mess cleaned up in a few days if we made the patch clean the machines. Not sure if cleaning people's machines without their permission is illegal, but itd sure make a lot of people grateful. If anyone does do it make sure to sign it as a gift from the opensource community so we look really good instead of the evil people that we've been made to be.
Regards,
Steve
After MyDoom.c we can probably expect MyQuake.a, as well as a sequel MyQuake.b... and maybe even MyReturnToCastleWolfenstein.a Unfortunately MyDoom.3d will only run on the latest graphics cards and DirectX9 hardware... and will spend years in development. Andy better not be working at id
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
I'm amazed that someone else hasn't already jumped on this hole. From the analysis I read, you just plonk two bytes down, and then pipe in the executable, and the victim machine runs it. I mean, nmap tied together with netcat would be enough to build an exploiter.
I am more amazed that neither SCO nor Microsoft didn't start tailing their http logs, and firing a disinfector back at hits that match the fingerprint of the ddos thread spool. I know, I know... hackback is bad, but in this case...
YLFIOne god, one market, one truth, one consumer.
A similar situation occured with Blaster and Welchia. As a network tech who had to deal with the mess, I must say that Welchia made matters much worse. It added to network traffic even more, thus slowing down an already congested network. Additionally, it makes diagnosing the virus harder. Instead of being able to see someone spamming port 135 and knowing it's Blaster, now you have to look for Blaster and Welchia.
While it's a somewhat noble idea, in the real world it is just another pain in the ass.
Awww, but it said "I Love You."
How could it be harmful if it says "I love you"?
Microsoft is dying.
Err Huh?
The only way to find the computers with open ports is to scan them. And this is what is the big problem with the counterworms. They infect a host and go on the offensive, spewing as much traffic as the original infected host did, making us scratch our heads and wonder why.
I wish people would take the high road and let the losers who can't admin their way out of a paper bag wallow around in their own ignorance, but if you feel like you must absolutely write a counterworm, please, please, PLEASE make it only counterattack against boxes that are connecting to the host!
For example, instead of scanning for machines, simply lie in wait on a computer, and when something connects to you on 3127, then attack and clean that computer, and only that computer.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
I'm sure if the file you sent out was called "thisvirusisnamedJim.vbs", it would be called Jim.
Tell that to the author of Nimda, the first major worm to spread multiple ways. He clearly named his worm "Concept Virus(CV) V.5, Copyright(C)2001 R.P.China" in a string in the binary, but the antivirus people called it "Nimda" anyway. Nimda 0.6 contained the string "Concept Virus(CV) V.6, Copyright(C)2001, (This's CV, No Nimda)" but it was still called Nimda.
We can't give users restricted accounts becasue it stops them from doing things like installing valid software. But don't you think it is time we took steps to sandbox the email applications?
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
I own two Macs, so don't take this as a troll, please.
Right now, Macs are feeling the effects of this virus, too; it's slowing down internet connections for ALL platforms thanks to the fact that it's indiscriminately flooding networks with "noise" in trying to find other machines with the MyDoom-opened port. To my knowledge, it doesn't stop searching, either.
And a "counter-virus" would only make things worse. Sure, you eventually stop the original worm(s), but you also do more damage and risk opening up a can of worms in doing so. Not only is YOUR "counter-virus" going to add to the network congestion, but it may well become a problem itself if it's not written just right. In other words, the cure might be worse than the disease.
For the short term, we need an education campaign. Teach the standard (and sub-standard) users of the world how to identify a virus, how to prevent getting infected, and why they should care. As the old saying goes, "you can give a man a fish, and feed him for a day, or you can teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime."
~UP
Eat the Path.
Doomjuice distributes source code for MyDoom.A
Making this one of the first high-profile open-source viruses?
<zealot cause="BSD">The first being a license rather than a piece of software, namely the GNU General Public Virus.</zealot>
I was fascinated by the zombifying worms, spreading across the internet making unsuspecting hosts into proxy spam servers, but now I'm beginning to wonder if worm harvesters will have to be written and (by mutual agreement) released onto the net. I still get code red droping by all the time (it can have my default.ida, for all I care; I'm through with it), and new kiddies write them at such an increasing pace that one New York Times article about worms recently needed two slashdot articles by the time it was posted. Might they start (at some point in the future) to actually start to "clog" the internet? Hell, they already do; the network where I work was brought to a crawl more than once over the last year because of them (and the idiots who administer the network, but that's another rant). Anyway, when worms constitute more than 50% of the traffic more than 50% of the time, some regulatory body is going to propose spidering worm-eaters. It'll be like "core wars" all over again (everything comes full circle sooner or later).
grammar-lesson free since 1999. (rescinded - 2005)
A Microsoft spokesman said Monday that any performance problems on the company's site are likely related to countermeasures the company took to evade the MyDoom.B DDoS attack and not an attack from machines infected with the latest variant."
So in other words, to prevent MyDoom from DDoSing Microsoft's website, Microsoft decides to DDoS themselves instead. What a wonderful world!
Carpe Diem: Seize The Day!
Help fight continental drift.
First Half Life 2, now the C source of Doom 3 is out in the wild... Damn, now we'll never see these games.
grep 3127 /etc/services
Cable and DSL companies will give out a nice little hardware firewall ala Linksys or Netgear along with their cable/dsl modems. Hell, Toshiba even makes a cable modem with a built in 4 port switch/firewall. Giving these users a broadband connection and no education on the dangers of the internet is like giving a Ferrari to someone who can't drive.
I know the ISP isn't untimately responsible for their users actions, but they'd be doing themselves a big favor by eliminating most of that traffic. During the heyday of the Blaster virus I was getting a few port 53 requests per second from infected machines on Verizon's dsl...that's quite an additional load on their network.
slashdot, news for crazed liberal socialist zealots
How about MyWindows.xp?
Actually Microsoft should be advertising the fact that it is the best OS on the planet for virus development and deployment. It would look good on the Windows vs Linux propaganda.
A cool enhancement would be to leave a friendly worm on the recently cleaned computer for a while (say a couple days) that cleans any other machine that attacks it. This would have a much greater impact without any scanning.
I heard Romero has been working on the MyDaikatana.a worm for the past five years. Unfortunately, he released it into the wild and nobody noticed; it apparently couldnt spread.
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
I'm no Microsoft supporter but you can not blame them for this one. Someone had to install a program (virus) to become infected. The spread of this virus and its variants are a result of ignorant computer users who happen to be on the Windows platform.
Blaster on the other hand was a result of a security flaw in Windows.
Hey guys, I just heard from a guy who got infected by the romero.a worm that MyDaikatana is supposed to make us its bitch in 2005. Although the romero.b, .c and .d variations claim the same thing for 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Mr. T pitied this fool on 27 July 1992.
You know when you feel like you have something really clever to say and want to say it really bad cuz you think its so amazing?
Here it is!
Why dont I create a machine that will fix your car for you too, and mow your lawn, and take out your trash and solve that pesky virginity problem of yours?
Because thats why WOMEN were invented! They solve all of the worlds problems! Go away from your computer, and find a woman who will download the new anti-virus definitions for you and solve the rest of your problems!
Now to all the women out there: YES, I am avaliable, please send me your resume containing important skillsets outlined above.
(but seriously, I am going to die alone)
[I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it]
What the submission missed, but is worth noting, is that port 3127 is one of the ports that MyDoom.A opens when it infects a machine. In other words, MyDoom.C is exploiting the hole that MyDoom.A opened.
The writeup from Symantec is here.
-R
Next thing you know, we'll see this on Windows Update:
MyDoom.C - A critical update for the MyDoom virus is now available. This update fixes the flaw that prevented infected machines from launching DOS attacks at microsoft.com past the expiry date. Install this update if you need microsoft.com DOSing capabilities.
You do know that this is what Nachi did and it turned out to be worse than Blaster that it was sent out to get rid of. Why don't you just let the virus propigate for 48 hours then clean the disk while you are at it.
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
Subject: Clickety-click!
Attachment:clickety.exe
Text:
Yeah, you know, the files you axed me for.
<SmallerFont>
By starting the attached file, you agree to: A) have remote administration software installed on your computer, B) allow that remote administration software to replicate to other computers as well, C) have a mail relay installed on your computer, D) have software that might conflict with the remote administration software (e.g. anti-virus software) disabled, E) you're not reading this anymore, are you? F) have updates to the remote administration software automatically installed, G) this text is so boring, H) even if that updates fundamentally alter the functionality of the software (e.g. DDOS the shit out of macrohard.com or dashslot.org) I) why not check out the nice file i sent you instead. J) you agree to never sue the author or distributor of this remote administration software for anything. K) no, really. the file is so nice - maybe it even makes funny sounds when you click it? L) neither anyone who uses your computer to send electronic mail, no matter what quantity or content.
</SmallerFont>
We all know, nobody reads those EULAs
Free as in mason.
MyDukeNukeMForever.A
Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
From Internet Storm Center (emphasis mine):
A new worm, named Doomjuice and MyDoom.C by various AV vendors, was identified. It spreads by exploiting the backdoor left by MyDoom.A and MyDoom.B. After infecting a system, it leaves a copy of the Mydoom.A source in a file named 'sync-src-1.00.tbz'. Doomjuice is also set to perform a DDOS against www.microsoft.com.
do we have to wait for myDoom.z to come out before we start on numbers? i'm still waiting for myDoom 3 to finally get released over here ;)
Virus-writers don't get to name their viruses, the anti-virus companies do that.
Well you seem to be making one mistake....
The virus writers ARE the anti-virus companies!
I questioned the 50,000 to 75,000 number as it seemed totally bogus and unrelated to the number of source IPs I'm seeing scanning my two class Cs. How can I see 10-15 different source IPs every 5-10 minutes if only 50,000 computers are infected worldwide?
ISC and dshield are showing the number of sources scanning port 3127 building up at an alarming rate. The number of sources seems to be increasing by about 2000 every 10 minutes, which is much more in line with the number of sources I'm seeing scanning my backwater.
This sounds just like the firewall admin who said We never have been hacked or even been tried to be hacked. This guy will almost absolutely surely have missed some attacks and does not watch his logfiles.
How can you say that you never had a virus when you never used an AV-scanner? Some viruses may not be noticable when on your system.
[--- PGP key and more on http://www.root42.de ---]
Anyone got a good SpamAssassin or procmail rule to filter out the backscatter?
I couldn't care less if it weren't for the flood of "you sent us an infected mail" spam that has been flooding my inbox for days because some stupid morons don't know that auto-notifications on virus scanners should be smashes, crucified, cooked in hot oil and quartered before being shot through the head with a shotgun because all the recent viruses fake the damn sender address.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org