Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 2b14c51a7a8f44ff…

MALICIOUS

PDF

487.2 KB Created: 2010-07-20 14:11:25 Authoring application: ComponentOne C1Report
MD5: d212710b38e42699b983ff25879abaf2 SHA-1: 87d438856c04f629fe9422d09a23663660512fb7 SHA-256: 2b14c51a7a8f44ff1bff84add457808f7fda7700a1bfddcebf50155e21ca261b
526 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This PDF file contains a JavaScript action that triggers a launch action, ultimately executing cmd.exe. The primary payload is an embedded Windows executable, masquerading as 'ephone_ibm.pdf', which was detected by ClamAV as Win.Trojan.Swrort-5710536-0. The PDF itself was also flagged by ClamAV as Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586. The combination of PDF launch actions, embedded executable payloads, and JavaScript dropper APIs strongly indicates a malicious intent to deliver and execute a secondary payload.

Heuristics 14

  • Adobe Reader Launch action command execution critical CVE exact CVE_2010_1240
    PDF 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.
  • Launch action critical PDF_LAUNCH
    PDF contains a /Launch action whose target is an executable, URL, or UNC path — can start an external application
  • Embedded Windows executable payload in PDF stream critical PDF_EMBEDDED_PE_PAYLOAD
    PDF 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.
  • /Launch action target: cmd.exe critical PDF_LAUNCH_COMMAND
    PDF /Launch action specifies an executable target with parameters '/Q /C %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\ephone_ibm.pdf" (cd "Desktop"' — references a known-dangerous executable (cmd, PowerShell, etc.).
  • Embedded attachment masquerades: declared document, content is windows-executable critical PDF_EMBEDDED_FILESPEC_CONTENT_MISMATCH
    An /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.
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
  • ClamAV detection on extracted artifact critical EXTRACTED_FILE_CLAMAV
    ClamAV 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.
  • /Launch action paired with attachment-dropping JS API high PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JS
    PDF 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.
  • Clickable PDF combines external action with parser-evasion structure high PDF_ACTION_PARSER_EVASION
    PDF has an external clickable URI together with object graph or xref structures that make parsers disagree, such as divergent duplicate objects, parser divergence, or xref offset mismatch. That combination is stronger than a plain link: the document is both an outward-action carrier and a parser-confusion/evasion sample.
  • 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.
  • Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDED
    PDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload
  • External URI info PDF_URI
    PDF contains an external URL action
  • 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://www.webappsec.org/projects/threat/classes/insufficient_session_expiration.shtml
    • http://www.webappsec.org/projects/threat/classes/information_leakage.shtml
    • http://www.webappsec.org/projects/threat/classes/abuse_of_functionality.shtml
    • http://cookies.lcs.mit.edu/pubs/webauth:tr.pdf
    • http://asp.net/
    • http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vsdebug/html/vxtskdebuggingaspwebapplication.asp
    • http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;815157
    • http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q218180
    • http://www.microsoft.com
    • http://online.securityfocus.com/bid/3159
    • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834141/
    • http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms972427.aspx

Extracted artifacts 8

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
ephone_ibm.pdf
67b5cf5507ae6470b817a8a06d78b6ef5b26fcbe336c8ad3a6553241a78a63c5
pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 242 at offset 0x6EBD4 73802 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: Win.Trojan.Swrort-5710536-0
Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
javascript_obj0243_000.js
fb7cb0d7492df9b789b3da6827e35699873c7b1cada62fbefc8adbe7b636b6a3
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 243 at offset 0x798E5 59 bytes
stream_094_off000531ff.bin
7e77532bc85abd7ec8eaa448c00f1538597a45b02bd92e08a4df2a58d3addee1
decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x531FF 66864 bytes
font_00_sfnt_off0004e042.bin
012571fb32e893ab3d3e08eb7ecda249d6a09e8600c8134282a88fbd6f7f94e6
pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x4E042 45284 bytes
font_02_sfnt_off0005baf4.bin
0c58705776cf91771e7050f57b979a528eaeab07a04d6a919558d7d7a97d6ece
pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x5BAF4 36468 bytes
font_03_sfnt_off0005f50f.bin
db44bc6e456dd927d38987cfc59f8b1857e2c31f49cf2528078443d7598abf81
pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x5F50F 35348 bytes
font_04_sfnt_off00062323.bin
e491ad54116a186ac68c6292dff26820af945ecfed8d8277249eee4a70323871
pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x62323 17472 bytes
font_05_sfnt_off0006541b.bin
610eb3ca73813efb50db5ed09cbe4ce011cc851a9af837391868b438d098fd27
pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x6541B 7620 bytes