Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 0ce9ea4247734cd8…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

46.8 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-02
MD5: 5745babb7f99e4e39ba2c5f2ba8e15b2 SHA-1: 5a04e6a23c408c84d12c84ae426f7080a1c38d91 SHA-256: 0ce9ea4247734cd889eccb37baa267aaed02266568f1a7805039d6e95ec29d66
310 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1204.002 Malicious File T1071.001 Web Protocols

The sample is an XLSM file containing Excel 4.0 macros, which are known to be used by Emotet for downloading and executing payloads. The macros utilize dangerous XLM formula APIs like FORMULA to call external functions, and the embedded URLs are highly suspicious. The heuristic firings and ClamAV detection strongly indicate a downloader for Emotet.

Heuristics 8

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (3 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.Emotet03220-9940726-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9940726-0
  • 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.
  • External relationship medium OOXML_EXTERNAL_REL
    External target in xl/externalLinks/_rels/externalLink1.xml.rels: /Users/Admin/Desktop/File/1mar/CIR-ZV/5.xlsm
  • 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://nataliapereira.com/wp-admin/pE8xYY3x6p/
    • http://annewelshsalon.com/wp-admin/2c9l2o1/cWWAzTVQ/
    • http://hellocloudgurusgerald.com/wp-content/iXYx/
    • https://ramijabali.com/licenses/0/
    • https://africa-roadworks.com/lilo-bard/vk3GSY7/
    • 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 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
90e37e1ee0ab1fa1161bc9308b04f0f335c97d1feb756097ceb983695c1599e5		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3554 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
966e861f35410708893ffb1f97241504111fc93333012aa9c7613d379c3c60bb		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1204 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
60579741b1b65a4181fd818a651bece32da461189f50a30098e233a7c5fed525		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1227 bytes

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