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

Static analysis result for SHA-256 23acdf6a808fcb5a…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSX

103.5 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300
MD5: b3c5461db1085cf62e19fe1c57a479a6 SHA-1: 1aa89f96af04f1ae2e0717d1315c6f25d717a6a7 SHA-256: 23acdf6a808fcb5a527f05b05994e004dd100cd9b7202f5f293c5ca4ecb0ceec
290 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1218.011 System Binary Proxy Execution: Rundll32 T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This XLSX file contains Excel 4.0 macros, which are known to be used for malicious purposes. The macros utilize dangerous functions like FORMULA to construct and execute commands. Specifically, it appears to be attempting to download a payload from multiple URLs using rundll32.exe and the urlmon library, as indicated by the reconstructed command: 'rundll32.exe A','JJC SysWow64\..\iix.ocx' ('urlmon','DownloadToFile' ...). This is a common technique for delivering second-stage malware.

Heuristics 7

  • 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: Win.Malware.Agent-9983617-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Win.Malware.Agent-9983617-0
  • 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.
  • 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://lupus.ktcatl.com/wp-content/uCccWJ/
    • http://123breathe.org/error/Drs/
    • https://packersandmoversbangalorecharges.com/cgi-bin/UrI6GM87K5u2y2pOW/
    • https://greenesqualityflooring.com/error/kUO7NnkpMp2cs/
    • http://new.hssus.org/wp-includes/blocks/eKID0QAfLUS/
    • 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
931aca2f208be70d374ebb6e3b5ce84d62043710cebea4a63abc358f6e3d2cda
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3792 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
1301a9b68f708ecd53476001d2adc675d5907080f1329990cc388355cfbedfbc
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1278 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
103e1830b20c8ca2f2e6d51a3a81673c3dd315f160a9ecbe580bdab4d6238de1
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1275 bytes