Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 2cf2a0ef629ae579…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

37.1 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300
MD5: ca084599e3beca284859fd1c78e07dbe SHA-1: 0794e78dc515a4b222ec8bf4a2b11c181f1f1750 SHA-256: 2cf2a0ef629ae579abff192ce879ecc5bb9dbe4b6ae67477effa0deeef879480
250 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.001 PowerShell T1059.003 Windows Command Shell

The file is an XLSM document containing Excel 4.0 macros, as indicated by multiple critical heuristic firings including OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET and OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN. The macros utilize dangerous XLM formula APIs like FORMULA, which are known primitives for downloading payloads. The ClamAV detection of 'Xls.Downloader.EmotetExcel122100-9913104-0' strongly suggests the Emotet family. The embedded URLs are likely sources for the second-stage payload.

Heuristics 6

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (8 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: Xls.Downloader.EmotetExcel122100-9913104-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.EmotetExcel122100-9913104-0
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 11 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://gronninggrafisk.dk/blogs/VywtkuMH2vE/
    • http://multilifecapsule.com/s9t0t1x/bgZZ2Gslow/
    • http://sierraendurancesports.com/backup_1/8iWP88/
    • 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 8

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
2080d6210c68e38acccfb5be0db73a68ff4253f34b9fa123f5684b1445c0d1fc		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3220 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
ceb5adcada0214181e536a8a058cb456fbcfe4a486d29cd185c8117200520be1		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1365 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
8a64aa30d99902ea7a99a9b90b1ee1238a58df11dd8419d899ea7dd6d334096d		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1366 bytes
xlm_sheet_03.xml
eb9bfe9bdebda540c828894dc4e9149e1ba7a2691d1ed56b3b04fb6d9a36191e		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet3.xml 1363 bytes
xlm_sheet_04.xml
2758b4ba64fea766c088d247a1498ea08c026fe41c5c21d48ad4f0f8b7be5e57		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet4.xml 1363 bytes
xlm_sheet_05.xml
6451df65cc10e1503db4d453a64f73a9026417657722c57f6ed147c8ec6708ac		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet5.xml 1366 bytes
xlm_sheet_06.xml
baa175c596711727ab65048b590e8e52a70cdec06148a9d046c2a6286ecdf57f		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet6.xml 1365 bytes
xlm_sheet_07.xml
e72f152fc995eb1f1ad88257e6ba1c18f0602a7fbede21eb23a670a9c64dfe55		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet7.xml 1365 bytes

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