Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 231e30744409bce5…

MALICIOUS

PDF

6.8 KB
MD5: 4b1fa00ccfbb299ec33be8b7ccd96491 SHA-1: f065a0a22ce5e03158a16c419bb9a585a993a13f SHA-256: 231e30744409bce513f21830cc273b16cfe2f98b037bb107925b6da7692ec823
132 Risk Score

Malware Insights

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

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that exploits CVE-2014-0496 using app.addToolButton/removeToolButton. The critical heuristic indicates that the PDF launcher decodes base-26 character pairs, subtracts a constant, and evaluates the result, with an encoded stage found near offset 0x60D. This suggests the document is designed to download and execute a second-stage payload, as indicated by the extracted artifact 'base26_stage_000.js'. The specific exploit and the nature of the embedded script point towards a malicious downloader.

Heuristics 7

  • app.addToolButton/removeToolButton — CVE-2014-0496 critical CVE exact CVE_2014_0496
    PDF JavaScript combines app.addToolButton() and app.removeToolButton() with heap-spray shellcode markers — the public Adobe Reader/Acrobat ToolButton use-after-free exploit shape for CVE-2014-0496. (identified after JavaScript deobfuscation)
  • Suspicious extracted artifact high EXTRACTED_FILE_STATIC_TRIAGE
    One or more files extracted from inside this sample matched static suspicious-content checks such as script obfuscation, encoded payload blobs, packed data, or execution/download terms.
  • JavaScript action low PDF_JAVASCRIPT
    PDF contains a /JavaScript action. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
  • Embedded JS stream low PDF_JS
    PDF references a /JS stream. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
  • XFA form low PDF_XFA
    PDF uses XML Forms Architecture — can contain script logic
  • AcroForm button with action trigger low PDF_ACROFORM_BUTTON
    PDF contains a /Btn form field together with a SubmitForm/URI/Launch/JS trigger — this is the building block of fake 'Download' or 'Open' button overlays used in PDF phishing lures
  • 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://ns.adobe.com/xdp/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xci/2.8/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.5/

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0003_000.js
7c1f0a38ff0bd82479ac611ec098d802c0005dd439cedf6f7df012105c98dbed		 pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 3 at offset 0x409 15590 bytes
base26_stage_000.js
7836d20062f0015f9cb9eaedba47f076c5c66d83d961da928a7b42df927a8ed5		 deobfuscated-js base26-decoded JavaScript (decompressed) at offset 0x60D 5937 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 45 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).

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