Malicious Office (OOXML) / .XLSM — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 01553ca5bd03c018…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

36.4 KB Created: 2006-09-16 00:00:00 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300
MD5: ed75207f70a24e13be5968b45f1bd14d SHA-1: ffc541bb65c4904ec97bc41fbce248fd2cda78f5 SHA-256: 01553ca5bd03c018cde43d5aa38e7c906d9dbc6626ac69be431b6fe908130a4e
318 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic for Applications T1204.002 Malicious File T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, disguised under a non-standard path and utilizing an Auto_Open defined name. The macros leverage dangerous functions like REGISTER and HALT, along with WinAPI calls such as DownloadToFileA and CreateDirectoryA, to download and execute a second-stage payload. The embedded URLs https://safedot.digital/ and https://safedot.digital/pp are likely destinations for this payload.

Heuristics 8

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (1 sheet(s)) critical OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET
    Spreadsheet contains an Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet — XLM was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022 and evaded many VBA-focused controls before Microsoft tightened XLM defaults. Even legitimate XLM use is rare in modern workbooks.
  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet stored under disguised package path critical OOXML_XLM_DISGUISED_RELATIONSHIP
    OOXML package declares an xlMacrosheet relationship whose target is outside the canonical xl/macrosheets/ path. Excel follows the relationship type, while path-only scanners can miss the macro execution surface.
  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OOXML_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    Workbook defines _xlnm.Auto_Open or _xlnm.Auto_Close while containing an XLM macro sheet. This is the OOXML/XLSB auto-execution shape for Excel 4.0 macros.
  • Dangerous XLM formula APIs: REGISTER, HALT critical OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet uses formula APIs that call directly into Win32 (=CALL/=EXEC/=REGISTER/=FORMULA). These are the primitives used to download payloads, write files, and start processes from an XLM macro without invoking VBA.
  • Binary XLM macro sheet with WinAPI/download strings critical OOXML_XLM_BINARY_WINAPI_STRINGS
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet is stored as BIFF12/XLSB binary data and contains Win32 download or process-execution API strings such as URLDownloadToFileA, ShellExecuteA, or CreateDirectoryA. These strings are high-signal in XLM macro sheets and catch payload-download macros that XML-formula scanners cannot parse.
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 1 hidden sheet(s) — hidden sheets are commonly used to conceal macro code, staging data, or intermediate payload construction
  • Call-to-action shape / download button low OOXML_DOWNLOAD_SHAPE
    Document drawing contains a call-to-action phrase ('Click Here', 'Download Now', etc.) inside a shape or text box — a common visual lure used to trick users into enabling macros or visiting a malicious URL
  • Embedded URL info EMBEDDED_URL
    One or more URLs were extracted from the document. The URL itself is not a detection — see the per-URL labels for which channel (macro, JS, link annotation, document body, ...) reached each URL.
    URL https://safedot.digital/
    • https://safedot.digital/pp
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2006/main
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2009/9/ac
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2014/revision
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2015/revision2
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision3
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision6

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
emf_00.emf
2b9e5aa22cd9d1d97ff7f1790b59d7dd1486066a19ecb5153c89c2c5abb49d07		 ooxml-emf OOXML EMF part: xl/media/image1.emf 2744 bytes
xlm_sheet_00.xml
10725f369631e329ff158b7499fcf8b049d5668df719e79eeb707f9864888bed		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/bioxr/font.png 74910 bytes

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