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

Static analysis result for SHA-256 21e2bab61ebddbbc…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

254.1 KB Created: 2021-08-16 09:36:27 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 12.0000
MD5: 2ab7590fe165c9167d84ef2cdc0e02a2 SHA-1: e81bdf750bae5674afa91901d9e1283881b27c72 SHA-256: 21e2bab61ebddbbc47292ed5ef733b56073cd8590959ebeb01c583f7180612b6
190 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.001 PowerShell

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, including an Auto_Open defined name, which is a strong indicator of malicious intent. The macros utilize dangerous functions like FOPEN, FWRITE, FCLOSE, and EXEC to write and execute a script. Specifically, the macro reconstructs the path 'C:\ProgramData\caIxLZfHVlkoIy.sct' and uses the CALL function to execute it. This indicates the file's purpose is to download and run a second-stage payload via the constructed script.

Heuristics 5

  • 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: FOPEN, FWRITE, FCLOSE, EXEC, 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.
  • 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
  • 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

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
53705ae85d55b554a9eace0fb535357a144f881cad97eecbdfd79751299d6230		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 765811 bytes

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