Phoenix.Phoenix.A

Alias:P1
Strain:
detected when:
where:Bulgaria
Classification:Link (COM), RAM-resident, trojan horse(EXE)
Length:core: 8192 byte, .COM: 1706 byte, .EXE: 132 byte

Preconditions

Operating System(s):MS-DOS
Version/Release:>= 3.2
Computer model(s):PC
Caroname:Phoenix.Phoenix

Attributes

Easy identification:core: "PHOENIX"

Type of Infection:

core: Allocate memory at the high end. Reroute INT 2Ah. If dos bios disk handler changed then reroute dos disk handler and starts original program. .COM: File starts with a near jump to virus code that is inside the original program. The original code is saved near the end of the file if it wasn't zero. .EXE: Append a procedure that test infection and start original programm. See also Damage Trigger.

Infection Technique:core: Int 2Ah is used by virus. .COM: - .EXE: file time second is 60.
Infection Trigger:core: Start of an infected .COM file. .COM: open, close or exec dos call with the file, 1960 <= file size < 64K, system flag unset, "*.COM" file, (file not zero blocked OR not "COMMAND.COM", (file size/2K)%8 != 7) .EXE: exec dos call with a none .COM file, in which directory an uninfected .EXE file is found, correct magic number, .EXE file allocates hole memory.
Storage Media affected:any drive
Interrupts hooked:Int 2Ah dos disk handler Int 13h, Int 24h inside virus
Stealth:.COM: In core virus code is overwritten after initiation.
Tunneling/Selfprot:.COM: Decoding, Mutation.
Oligo/Polymorphism:.COM: Register and branch condition alternate inside decoding part of virus.
Encoding Method:XOR with changing keys (infection generation)
Damage:1. Overwrite each sector of all hard disks. 2. Changing randomly choosed words in a sector
Damage Trigger:1. core: Dos bios disk handler is located in the TPA during initiation. .EXE: core isn't infected. 2. core: virus dos disk handler reads or writes one or more sector(s), 2 <= words between 1 and 0FFFEh <= 2*words in sequence in the 1st sector, damage trigger (512) counted down
Particularities:1. .EXE files have magic word "MZ" or "ZM".
Similarities:

Agents

Countermeasures:The virus will be (for example) detected by F-PROT 2.14 (F. Skulason)
Standard means:1. Reboot from a clear bootdisk. 2. Delete all infected files.

Acknowledgements

Location:VTC Uni Hamburg
Classification by:Jochen Metzinger
Documentation by:Jochen Metzinger
Date:24.10.1994
Information Source:

(c) 1996 Virus-Test-Center, University of Hamburg