PDF malware analysis — malicious · 3dbfcb4ee263e7a7

MALICIOUS

PDF

52.3 KB Created: 2011-05-03 12:30:36 Authoring application: Created by PDF360 (via Produced by activePDF)

MD5: 236cf657af10da34e72a3d0f74a64379 SHA-1: c060e3b68ee2a5342e2a363688b996fe15a32fdf SHA-256: 3dbfcb4ee263e7a707b4a11e82c2bccaf046b606e07fa8d08da1127b271d1d0b

518 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

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

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript and a launch action that exploits CVE-2010-1240 to execute cmd.exe. This command is used to launch an embedded Windows executable payload, which is detected by ClamAV as Win.Dropper.VertexNet-7139730-0. The embedded executable is masquerading as 'order.pdf'.

Machine Learning

Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 1.0000

Heuristics 12

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\\order.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.
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
Suspicious extracted artifact info EXTRACTED_FILE_STATIC_TRIAGE

One or more files extracted from inside this sample matched static suspicious-content checks such as script obfuscation, encoded payload blobs, packed data, or execution/download terms.

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`order.pdf` `e883e9485fd206a2711be6e51c57a69b8c924c120dfa0714cf8ffd2de54ddeea`	pdf-embedded-file	PDF EmbeddedFile object 19 at offset 0x458C	38400 bytes
Detection ClamAV: Win.Dropper.VertexNet-7139730-0 Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.76, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
`javascript_obj0020_000.js` `1ab98f5111d664a992ec3783938071764908a74122c425551f8088c3e1b60caf`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 20 at offset 0xCCF7	54 bytes

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