Home Malware Programs Trojans Troj/Plugx-G

Troj/Plugx-G

Posted: February 28, 2013

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 5/10
Infected PCs: 7
First Seen: February 28, 2013
Last Seen: May 11, 2020
OS(es) Affected: Windows

Troj/Plugx-G is a Trojan that is included in a targeted attack against Tibetan activists abusing Nvidia file to load malware.
The malware attack delivering Troj/Plugx-G uses an Nvidia application vulnerable to DLL preloading. The malware attack bears a RTF (Rich Text Format) document via the email that's rigged with an exploit for a Microsoft Office vulnerability. The document poses as a statement from the Tibetan Youth Congress. If opened on an affected computer system that doesn't have the corresponding Microsoft Office patch, the exploit drops and runs a self-extracting WinRAR archive that distributes the potentially malicious files. Nv.exe is executed subsequently.

The version of Nv.exe downloaded by this exploit is vulnerable to an attack called DLL preloading, also known as DLL sideloading, DLL hijacking, or binary planting. Nv.exe is programmed to load NvSmartMax.dll, which the attackers have substituted with a malevolent one. When the legitimate Nv.exe is executed, it will automatically load the malevolent NvSmartMax.dll located in the same directory as itself. The malicious NvSmartMax.dll is programmed to further load NvSmartMax.dll.url, which is a copy of PlugX, a known remote access tool (RAT) detected as Troj/Plugx-G. The attack associated with Troj/Plugx-G is created to hack the vulnerable computer and allow the attacker to gain full remote access and control of the compromised PC.

Technical Details

File System Modifications

Tutorials: If you wish to learn how to remove malware components manually, you can read the tutorials on how to find malware, kill unwanted processes, remove malicious DLLs and delete other harmful files. Always be sure to back up your PC before making any changes.

The following files were created in the system:



404adf544ab649fb006c89ab2559f434 File name: 404adf544ab649fb006c89ab2559f434
Size: 41.47 KB (41472 bytes)
MD5: 404adf544ab649fb006c89ab2559f434
Detection count: 99
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 5, 2013
hccutils.dll File name: hccutils.dll
Size: 41.98 KB (41984 bytes)
MD5: 2910076a244e57de342b1f080c8e50a9
Detection count: 98
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 5, 2013
3f14943619aa18785f42549e80ae73e4 File name: 3f14943619aa18785f42549e80ae73e4
Size: 41.98 KB (41984 bytes)
MD5: 3f14943619aa18785f42549e80ae73e4
Detection count: 1
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 5, 2013
Nv.exe File name: Nv.exe
File type: Executable File
Mime Type: unknown/exe
Group: Malware file
NvSmartMax.dll.url File name: NvSmartMax.dll.url
Mime Type: unknown/url
Group: Malware file
NvSmartMax.dll File name: NvSmartMax.dll
Size: 49.15 KB (49152 bytes)
MD5: d659d95d46f71f172cd4f2aca9532949
Detection count: 0
File type: Dynamic link library
Mime Type: unknown/dll
Group: Malware file
Last Updated: March 5, 2013
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