Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 0210d77d41e70909…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

29.1 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-23
MD5: 64a24bb761dab5db19bf72bd4fc87c0c SHA-1: 71c2625da8150a87a9557019699df1d4271a4766 SHA-256: 0210d77d41e709090cd2efe18f98fdccc6c8f4907d63e23139a9f4869360a0d8
290 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1218.010 System Binary Proxy Execution: Regsvr32

This Excel file contains critical Excel 4.0 macros, including an Auto_Open defined name and dangerous formula APIs like FORMULA, CALL, and EXEC. These macros are designed to download and execute a second-stage payload using regsvr32.exe, leveraging URLs such as 'iqraacfindia.org/wp-admin/dG/'. The ClamAV signature also identifies this as an Emotet downloader.

Heuristics 7

  • 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 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: FORMULA 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.
  • ClamAV: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03221-9942293-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03221-9942293-0
  • LOLBin token sequence in document text high SE_LOLBIN_RUN_COMMAND
    Extracted document text contains a Windows script/execution tool name (PowerShell, mshta, cmd, rundll32, regsvr32, …) within 220 characters of a dangerous flag, command verb, or URL. This is a visible 'run this' instruction in HTML/PDF/RTF lure bodies, or — in macro-laden Office files — the macro's own string-pool entries appearing adjacent in extracted text.
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 5 hidden sheet(s) — hidden sheets are commonly used to conceal macro code, staging data, or intermediate payload construction
  • 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 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 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
b0bd7784b0a80afc0641703b4f57d8c416dc7e42eb8c3ba4557b10cb9d018ede		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 4208 bytes

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