Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 32a3efa922c5169e…

MALICIOUS

PDF

172.4 KB
MD5: db6c6f9f4be69a43630fd6ab141440bd SHA-1: 2e3108ae9dd1823688f267cc89dd9680770de56c SHA-256: 32a3efa922c5169edfb8ed21297d39cb75b2c3adc243e641543a6b4bc4d93426
302 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204 Malicious Link T1204.002 Malicious File T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter T1059.007 JavaScript

The PDF file contains XFA (XML Forms Architecture) which is known to be vulnerable to heap spray attacks, as indicated by the 'PDF_XFA_HEAP_SPRAY' heuristic. The embedded JavaScript and XFA script are likely used to trigger this exploit, leading to arbitrary code execution. The 'ML_NYX_PDF_MALICIOUS' and 'CLAMAV_DETECTION' heuristics further confirm its malicious nature, with ClamAV identifying it as 'Pdf.Exploit.Agent-6136306-0'. The embedded URLs are related to XFA schema definitions and do not appear to be malicious themselves.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 1.0000

Heuristics 11

  • XFA form contains risky executable script high CVE related PDF_XFA_SCRIPT
    PDF embeds an XFA form whose script block contains exploit, submission/launch, or shell-execution primitives. Ordinary LiveCycle print/update scripts are left as generic XFA/JS signals unless stronger behavior is present.
  • U3D/3D content in PDF — Adobe Reader 3D parser CVE-family indicator high CVE related PDF_U3D_CVE_RELATED
    PDF contains U3D (Universal 3D) or 3D annotation content — CVE-2011-2462 and CVE-2009-3953 are critical vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader's U3D processing that allow arbitrary code execution. U3D content in PDFs is extremely rare in normal documents.
  • XFA JavaScript heap-spray exploit code critical PDF_XFA_HEAP_SPRAY
    PDF contains XFA script content with heap-spray or shellcode-like JavaScript markers such as large encoded word sequences, util.pack, large arrays, or spray variable names. This is a weaponised Adobe Reader exploit pattern, not a normal interactive form.
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-6136306-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-6136306-0
  • Embedded script payload in PDF stream medium PDF_EMBEDDED_SCRIPT_PAYLOAD
    PDF stream bytes contain an HTML/XFA <script> tag without accompanying Windows shell-execution primitives — common in accessible XFA forms but worth surfacing for analyst review.
  • ASCIIHexDecode filter (with exploit indicators) medium PDF_FILTER_HEX
    Hex-encoding filter present alongside exploit delivery indicators — often used to hide payload or shellcode bytes
  • 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/xfa-template/2.5/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-data/1.0/

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
embedded_pdf_script_000004c7.bin
2d7a4f79296e6b62e1216db4a6af342ebe62bf528881746ce141107b7d64b728
pdf-embedded-script PDF raw stream script payload at offset 0x4C7 175307 bytes