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XMR Monero trojan is injected into cmd.exe causing constant 25% CPU usage

rhstephens
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rhstephens

rhstephens

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Hello,

After spending more time than I should have, I am 99% sure my computer has been infected with a trojan that has hijacked cmd.exe with a crypto miner.

Using Process Explorer, I found that cmd.exe has been running at a constant 25% CPU usage (until task manager is opened, in which it immediately drops to 0%). Killing the process only results in it starting it back up a few minutes later, and I can't seem to find what watchdog process is starting it. The parent process for the suspect cmd.exe is simply explorer.exe, which hasn't helped narrow it down. There is likely a task/service that restarts the crypto miner, as well as some potential registry keys to re-install on startup. I am just a bit out of my field here and no longer know what to do next.

In anticipation of logs, I have ran the MalwareBytes Support Tool, as well as FRST to generate the following files which are included: mbst-grab-results.zip  FRST.txt  Addition.txt 

FRST.txt Addition.txt mbst-grab-results.zip

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JSntgRvr

JSntgRvr

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Welcome smile.png
 

Please read this post completely before beginning. If there's anything that you do not understand, please don't hesitate to ask before proceeding.
 
Please take note of the guidelines for this fix:

  • Please note that I am a volunteer. I do have a family, a career, and other endeavors that may prevent immediate responses that meet your schedule. Do note that the differences in time zones could present a problem as well. Your patience and understanding will be greatly appreciated.
  • First of all, the procedures we are about to perform are specific to your problem and should only be used on this specific computer.
  • Do not make any changes to your computer that include installing/uninstalling programs, deleting files, modifying the registry, nor running scanners or tools of any kind unless specifically requested by me.
  • Please read ALL instructions carefully and perform the steps fully and in the order they are written.
  • If things appear to be better, let me know. Just because the symptoms no longer exist as before, does not mean that you are clean.
  • Continue to read and follow my instructions until I tell you that your machine is clean.
  • If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask before performing the task that I ask of you, and please wait for my reply before you proceed.
  • Scanning with programs and reading the logs do take a fair amount of time. Again, your patience will be necessary. smile.png

Let's begin... 

The Support tool usually downloads FRST64.exe or FRST.exe to your downloads folder, then renames the application as FRSTEnglish.exe. Check your downloads folder

, if not present

Please download the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system.
You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

  • Please rename FRST.EXE or FRST64.EXE to FRSTEnglish.exe

This Fix will empty the following folders:

  • Windows Temp
  • Users Temp folders
  • Edge, IE, FF, Chrome, and Opera caches, HTML5 storages, Cookies and History
  • Recently opened files cache
  • Discord cache
  • Java cache
  • Steam HTML cache
  • Explorer thumbnail and icon cache
  • BITS transfer queue (qmgr*.dat files)
  • Recycle Bin

Important: items are permanently deleted. They are not moved to quarantine. If you have any questions or concerns please ask before running this fix.

The system will be rebooted after the fix has run.

  • Download the enclosed file  Fixlist.txt
  • Save it in the same location FRST64.exe is saved  (FRSTEnglish.exe)
  • Start FRST (FRST64) with Administrator privileges  (FRSTEnglish.exe)
  • This time around Press the Fix button and wait
  • When finished, a log file (Fixlog.txt) will pop up and saved in the same location the tool was ran from.

Please attach this file in your next reply.

Temporarily disable your AntiVirus and AntiSpyware protection - instructions here.
Please visit the ESET Online Scanner website

  • Click the One-Time Scan button to download the esetonlinescanner.exe file to the Desktop
  • Double click esetonlinescanner.exe. then the GetStarted button.
  • Accept the Terms of Use  and the Get Started again.
  • Enable reccomended options, and continue.
  • Select the Full scan
  • Enable Eset to detect and quarantine potentially unwanted applications
  • Click StartScan
  • The program will begin to download it's virus database. The speed may vary depending on your Internet connection.
  • When completed, the program will begin to scan. This may take several hours. Please, be patient.
  • Do not do anything on your machine as it may interrupt the scan.
  • When completed it'll show a list of "Threats found", click beneath it on Save to text file.... and save it as ESET log.txt on your Desktop.
  • Then click Do not clean. Place a checkmark at Delete application's data on close, click Finish and close the program.

Attach the ESET log.txt report.
 
Don't forget to re-enable previously switched-off protection software!!

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rhstephens

rhstephens

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Hello,

Thanks for the help! I have included those files you requested, however I ran into a small issue when running FRST with the provided Fixlist the first time. After an hour of running, the program ended early without shutting down the computer. The resulting Fixlog shows that it ended early due to a timeout (it was hanging on one of the very last instructions). I suspected that the fixlist had a syntax error, so I added what I thought was a missing backtick to the last powershell instruction and then ran it again. The second operation completed successfully. I attached both Fixlog.txt results as Fixlog_1st.txt and Fixlog_2nd.txt respectively.

Either way, the rogue cmd.exe process has not started itself backup ever since the first run on FRST. 

log.txt Fixlog_1st.txt Fixlog_2nd.txt

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JSntgRvr

JSntgRvr

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Lets pickup where it stopped:

  • Download the enclosed file  Fixlist.txt
  • Save it in the same location FRST64.exe is saved  (FRSTEnglish.exe)
  • Start FRST (FRST64) with Administrator privileges  (FRSTEnglish.exe)
  • This time around Press the Fix button and wait
  • When finished, a log file (Fixlog.txt) will pop up and saved in the same location the tool was ran from.

Please attach this file in your next reply.

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rhstephens

rhstephens

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Everything is looking good, including after restarting the PC a few times, so thanks for that! Nothing is using a significant amount of CPU and the fans have been quiet. As far as I can tell, the crypto miner is no longer there

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rhstephens

rhstephens

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However, I have been running Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), and it appears no longer able to connect. I imagine some of the firewall settings changes could have effected it. I can probably figure this out with a little research, but if you happen to know from this output (when running "wsl" on CMD), any pointers would be welcome :)

 

  

Failed to configure network (networkingMode Nat). To disable networking, set `wsl2.networkingMode=None` in C:\Users\Ryan Stephens\.wslconfig
Error code: Wsl/Service/CreateInstance/CreateVm/ConfigureNetworking/HNS/ERROR_NOT_FOUND

 

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JSntgRvr

JSntgRvr

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Seems that some of the WSL was installed in the temp folder. That folder is targeted for cleaning. I am not familiar with this, but running Install may help.

 

Use this application to remove tools used and their quarantined items:
 
Please download KpRm by Kernel-panik and save to your Desktop.

  • Click on KpRm.exe to run the tool.

Vista/Windows 7/8/10 users right-click and select Run As Administrator.

  • Put a check mark next to these items:

- Delete tools

- Create Restore Point

- Delete now

  • Click the "Run" button.

automatic.png

  • When the tool has finished, it will create and open a log report and delete itself.

A few final recommendations:
 
The following information will help you to keep your computer and data safer as well as improve your overall privacy

Malwarebytes Browser Guard

uBlock Origin

Cybersecurity basics & protection
 
Everything you need to know about cybercrime
https://www.malwarebytes.com/cybersecurity
 
Further reading if you'd like to keep up on the malware threat scene: Malwarebytes Blog  https://blog.malwarebytes.com/
 
Please review the following to help you better protect your computer and privacy
 
Tips to help protect from infection
 
Hopefully, we've been able to assist you with correcting your system issues.
 
Thank you for using Malwarebytes. Please tell your friends and family if they too need assistance with malware removal.

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