Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 218f8fb236a36cf6…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

56.8 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-11
MD5: 74389b5d2a7275f9b25818bb98d49129 SHA-1: 1480aeea00002f897fd7f1b1adcb95fcd282777d SHA-256: 218f8fb236a36cf6cfdd9b0f9544f98580ead944b1811744721eb22a7d1c9529
250 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1218.010 System Binary Proxy Execution: Regsvr32 T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, indicated by the 'OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET' and 'OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN' heuristics. The macros are designed to download a file named 'adw.ocx' from multiple URLs and execute it using 'regsvr32.exe'. The ClamAV detection 'Xls.Downloader.Emotet03221-9941787-0' strongly suggests the Emotet family, which commonly uses macro-enabled documents for initial infection. The reconstructed URLs and the use of regsvr32.exe for execution are key indicators of its malicious intent.

Heuristics 6

  • 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.Emotet03221-9941787-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03221-9941787-0
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 6 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 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
5c8f0f9b728a47cf0720c58c33e8e3dc8468079bed940dd36dcf9440a111cfe3		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3823 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
32c9efc148612c9b9db92006ecdf256014ec72d23f128e840633b5261e853f7c		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1276 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
f186110c5b63906adca7eec748bd2978a7f7130fa17ebaf066dd0bd0ef476041		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1152 bytes

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