Malicious Office (OLE) / .XLS — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 1a8549a798e6817d…

MALICIOUS

Office (OLE) / .XLS

139.5 KB Created: 2006-09-16 00:00:00 Authoring application: Microsoft Excel
MD5: 5cdbc425fccbee5776ea3a8a2aa48191 SHA-1: e08f9e6ceb6a7057de944ebfc2fe5f8f4dabb32c SHA-256: 1a8549a798e6817db02ef32a2d889ba33c30bf30c4dd17d894687c9be7cac5d0
160 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Service Execution: Visual Basic T1204.002 Malicious File: Malicious Link

The sample is an Excel 4.0 spreadsheet containing an Auto_Open macro, which is a critical finding. The macro uses the RUN function, indicating it attempts to execute an external payload. The DOC BODY contains a URL, 'http://bpxe15jijmh03ubiwhh.xyz/w.', and a filename '\zfbfg.ere', strongly suggesting the macro downloads and executes a second-stage payload from this URL. The 'SE_ENABLE_LURE' heuristic confirms the document attempts to trick the user into enabling macros.

Heuristics 4

  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    oletools recovered an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry from an Excel 4.0 macro sheet. The raw BIFF name can be tokenized or partially opaque to byte-string checks, but the recovered macro listing confirms the workbook has an XLM auto-execution entry.
  • XLM Auto_Open with dangerous formula APIs critical OLE_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet contains an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry and dangerous XLM formula APIs that can invoke programs, write files, or transfer control without VBA.
  • Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet present medium OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN
    Workbook contains an Excel 4.0 macro sheet sub-stream — XLM is rarely seen in modern legitimate workbooks and was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022.
  • Macro/content-enable lure medium SE_ENABLE_LURE
    Document instructs the user to enable macros or editing — a common technique used by malware droppers to bypass Office macro security settings

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_macros.txt
d7d8460f241467ecee90c02bddfa283afa0002b04752cbda089a362d886601b7		 xlm-macro oletools.olevba.extract_all_macros (XLM macro listing) 4546 bytes

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