MALICIOUS
514
Risk Score
Malware Insights
MITRE ATT&CK
T1204.002 Malicious File
T1566.002 Spearphishing Attachment
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell
T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer
The PDF contains JavaScript that triggers a launch action, executing cmd.exe. This command is designed to execute an embedded Windows executable, identified by ClamAV as 'Win.Dropper.Mimikatz-9778171-1'. The embedded executable is disguised as 'template.pdf' but is detected as a malicious dropper. The ML classifier and multiple critical heuristics strongly indicate malicious intent.
Machine Learning
- Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 1.0000
Heuristics 11
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Adobe Reader Launch action command execution critical CVE exact CVE_2010_1240PDF uses the Adobe Reader/Acrobat Launch action pattern associated with CVE-2010-1240: cmd.exe is invoked with attacker-controlled parameters, paired with an embedded/exported payload.
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Launch action critical PDF_LAUNCHPDF contains a /Launch action whose target is an executable, URL, or UNC path — can start an external application
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Embedded Windows executable payload in PDF stream critical PDF_EMBEDDED_PE_PAYLOADPDF stream bytes contain an embedded Windows executable with a verified PE header. Exploit chains often hide droppers inside ordinary streams rather than standard /EmbeddedFile attachments.
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/Launch action target: cmd.exe critical PDF_LAUNCH_COMMANDPDF /Launch action specifies an executable target with parameters '/Q /C %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\template.pdf" (cd "Desktop"' — references a known-dangerous executable (cmd, PowerShell, etc.).
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Embedded attachment masquerades: declared document, content is windows-executable critical PDF_EMBEDDED_FILESPEC_CONTENT_MISMATCHAn /EmbeddedFile attachment's declared filename extension or /Subtype MIME type contradicts the magic bytes of its decompressed content. The attachment is declared as a benign document or image but the bytes are an executable or executable-bearing archive. This is a deliberate deception used to hide droppers in PDF attachments and is a generic indicator of embed-and-drop weaponisation, independent of any specific CVE.
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ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTIONClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
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ClamAV detection on extracted artifact critical EXTRACTED_FILE_CLAMAVClamAV flagged at least one file extracted from inside this sample. Even when the wrapping document carries no AV detection of its own, a hit on the carved artifact is a strong indicator the sample is a delivery vehicle.
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/Launch action paired with attachment-dropping JS API high PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JSPDF combines a /Launch action with a JavaScript API call that writes or opens an attached/external resource — the canonical shape of the CVE-2010-1240 /Launch + exportDataObject family. Benign PDFs do not pair these surfaces; the combination indicates a drop-and-execute chain regardless of the specific JS API knobs or /Launch target.
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JavaScript action low PDF_JAVASCRIPTPDF contains a /JavaScript action. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
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Embedded JS stream low PDF_JSPDF references a /JS stream. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
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Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDEDPDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload
Extracted artifacts 2
Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.
| Filename | Kind | Source | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
template.pdfb09cd62550ab441a75af71918baa79142b8d035e9ae153f25b8811d4f666bcc1 |
pdf-embedded-file | PDF EmbeddedFile object 8 at offset 0x3B8 | 808448 bytes |
|
Detection
ClamAV:
Win.Dropper.Mimikatz-9778171-1
Obfuscation or payload:
unlikely
|
|||
javascript_obj0009_000.jsbc1d5cdfa608238e3cd965aa51949d02f8ab713463ea0beb61ec928b121788d1 |
pdf-javascript-stream | PDF /JS object 9 at offset 0x5C0A2 | 57 bytes |
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