X97M.Papa.B | 
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The X97M.Papa.B Worm is a macro worm. The worm replicates in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Using the macro language in Microsoft Excel in conjunction with Microsoft Outlook, the worm sends copies of itself to email addresses configured in Outlook's address lists. In order for this worm to self-propagate, one must have both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Outlook installed on their computer system.
Damage
- Payload: Mails itself using Outlook, Pings two IP addresses
Distribution
Upon opening an infected spreadsheet, the worm composes an email to the first 60 email addresses in each address list configured in Microsoft Outlook. The email contains the subject:
Fwd: Workbook from all.net and Fred Cohen
The body of the email contains the text:
Urgent info inside. Disregard macro warning.
The worm then attaches the Excel spreadsheet to the email and sends the message, propagating itself further. Such mass mailings can cause network congestion and an increase in load on email servers forcing them to be shut down.
The worm contains an additional payload with a random trigger. The payload performs a ping on two different IP addresses with a random buffer size for an indefinite amount of time potentially causing a denial of service and additional network congestion.
As always, one should practice safe computing practices and avoid opening email attachments that can contain viruses, worms, or other malicious programs. The worm will not self-propagate simply by reading your email. You must launch or run the attached Excel spreadsheet. The Excel spreadsheet attachment was originally named XPASS.XLS or CRACKED.XLS. However, filenames are easily changeable so, the worm may spread as a different filename.
If you believe you may have X97M.Papa.B, you should obtain the latest virus definition updates. To obtain the latest virus definition updates, submit the file via the Scan and Deliver feature in Norton AntiVirus 5.0
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 (for example, all Windows-based computers should have the current Service Pack installed.). Additionally, please apply any security updates that are mentioned in this writeup, in trusted Security Bulletins, or on vendor Web sites.
- 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.
If you believe you have been infected, please download the latest virus definitions via LiveUpdate or from the Symantec Security Response Web site.
- Click here for instructions on using LiveUpdate to retrieve virus definitions.
- Click here to manually download and install virus definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site.
Write-up by: Eric Chien
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