Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 3e7b0cec6a5d1931…

MALICIOUS

PDF

768.7 KB Created: 2009-09-14 13:21:22 +02:00 Authoring application: Adobe PDF Library 8.0 First seen: 2026-05-10
MD5: 4e97dc417c3ed7201f66682b6709c7a5 SHA-1: 32cbbb35a526384d6d143ca6bb4f95741f756615 SHA-256: 3e7b0cec6a5d1931f4b3a46072fb65564b3aa79b8e5f05f4b8b5328d1adb4ee6
244 Risk Score

🔏 Digital signature Modified after signing

A signature covers the whole signed byte range — PDF JavaScript is never signed on its own — and does not by itself mean the document is safe.

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File T1566.002 Spearphishing Attachment

This PDF document contains multiple JavaScript streams, with one stream exhibiting an eval() call, indicating code execution. The presence of embedded files and a high stream count suggests obfuscation and a complex payload delivery mechanism. The JavaScript is likely used to download and execute a second-stage payload, which is a common technique for malware distribution via PDFs. The specific JavaScript files extracted are considered IOCs.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 0.8993

Heuristics 13

  • JavaScript action low 2 related findings PDF_JAVASCRIPT
    PDF contains a /JavaScript action. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
  • PDF JavaScript exploit cluster critical PDF_JS_EXPLOIT_CLUSTER
    PDF combines an executable JavaScript/action surface with exploit staging indicators such as eval/unescape/fromCharCode, XFA script content, or a related CVE pattern. Benign form JavaScript remains low-severity, but this correlated cluster is high-confidence malicious behavior.
    Matched line in script
     */
function convertGlobalValueForRetrieval(name, value) {
 var returnValue = value;
  • 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.
  • Active content added after the PDF was signed medium PDF_SIGNATURE_POST_SIGN_MODIFICATION
    An incremental update appended AFTER the signed byte range introduces active content (/EmbeddedFile, /Catalog). Some of this can occur in legitimate form-fill (field scripts, a rewritten /Catalog), so it is suspicious rather than damning — but it is content the signer did not approve.
  • 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.
  • Unusually high stream count medium PDF_MANY_STREAMS
    PDF contains 501+ stream objects — may indicate heap spray or heavy obfuscation
  • Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDED
    PDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload
  • 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
  • syncAnnotScan annotation-staging primitive low PDF_FOXIT_SYNCANNOTSCAN
    PDF JavaScript calls syncAnnotScan() — a no-op annotation-enumeration primitive used by exploit-kit JavaScript to stage payload reads from annotation /Subject fields before eval(). Not a vulnerable sink itself; rarely seen in legitimate PDFs. (identified after nested-decoder de-obfuscation)
  • Object number defined twice with different bodies info PDF_DUPLICATE_OBJ_BODY_INCREMENTAL
    The same indirect object (N G) is defined more than once with different body bytes. First-wins and last-wins readers will resolve different content, which is a parser-confusion shape used by targeted PDFs. Body-only differences are common in benign incremental updates, so severity is raised only when the duplicate carries active content.
  • 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.
  • 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.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html In PDF document text
    • http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#In PDF document text
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/In PDF document text
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/mm/In PDF document text
    • http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/In PDF document text
    • http://ns.adobe.com/pdf/1.3/In PDF document text
    • http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.)Tj0In PDF document text
    • http://www.adobe.com/supportIn PDF document text
    • http://crl.adobe.com/prodSvce.crl0In PDF document text
    • https://www.adobe.comIn PDF document text
    • http://crl.adobe.com/cds.crl0���~�|�z0x1In PDF document text
    • http://cgi.adobe.com/special/acrobat/updateReferenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xci/1.0/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.5/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-xliff/1.0/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtmlReferenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-data/1.0/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-locale-set/2.1/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-connection-set/2.4/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-connection-set/2.1/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://ns.adobe.com/data-description/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xdp/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-form/2.5/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-form/2.8/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.4/Referenced by PDF JavaScript

Related samples 8

Ranked by shared artifacts, heuristics, extracted URLs, CVEs, and signatures.

Full JSON: related samples API

Extracted artifacts 12

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
embedded_file_obj1552.bin pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 1552 at offset 0x27BCA 32513 bytes
SHA-256: f68451ab93012b047ce4dd7bb71ff312ed193b80738b3da360a8e25634a78d30
embedded_file_obj1553.bin pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 1553 at offset 0x2861D 85 bytes
SHA-256: c06dcd026a7ea0536b63e07ce688691b585339a3ab7ff59065e546b56308c7bb
embedded_file_obj1554.bin pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 1554 at offset 0x286D2 40933 bytes
SHA-256: e475f9760af73935e4d32f822a8e560794bd954bcfc6182dab079f0c18465a48
embedded_file_obj1641.bin pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 1641 at offset 0x2CB51 21102 bytes
SHA-256: f61165c9bc5b0b07de910fbd045fc5802433e10d1d08a949be8d981ef0e96f7c
embedded_file_obj13871.bin pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 13871 at offset 0xBC7F0 44121 bytes
SHA-256: 229c36f7e596d13fef076a38464e1f43de618ee593552bd24f36de5512ac39aa
javascript_obj1518_000.js pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 1518 at offset 0x2E2E 870 bytes
SHA-256: 4a1aca004cf20431c9a66dce85404a6411a54d881a6c257882260ffc972a13eb
Preview script
First 1,000 lines of the extracted script
if (typeof(ADBE.Reader_Value_Asked) == "undefined")
   ADBE.Reader_Value_Asked = false;
if (typeof(ADBE.Viewer_Value_Asked) == "undefined")
   ADBE.Viewer_Value_Asked = false;
if (typeof(ADBE.Reader_Need_Version) == "undefined" || ADBE.Reader_Need_Version < 7.0)
{
   ADBE.Reader_Need_Version = 7.0;
   ADBE.Reader_Value_New_Version_URL = "http://cgi.adobe.com/special/acrobat/update";
   ADBE.SYSINFO = "?p=" + app.platform + "&v=" + app.viewerVersion + "&l=" + app.language + "&c=" + app.viewerType + "&w=" + "XFA1_6";
}
if (typeof(ADBE.Viewer_Need_Version) == "undefined" || ADBE.Viewer_Need_Version < 7.0)
{
   ADBE.Viewer_Need_Version = 7.0;
   ADBE.Viewer_Value_New_Version_URL = "http://cgi.adobe.com/special/acrobat/update";
   ADBE.SYSINFO = "?p=" + app.platform + "&v=" + app.viewerVersion + "&l=" + app.language + "&c=" + app.viewerType + "&w=" + "XFA1_6";
}
javascript_obj1520_001.js pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 1520 at offset 0x2FB9 2798 bytes
SHA-256: 922f7942d25f53e6e6eedc1b3a95c47a757faab3be4838fa02db0dbea2c4dbcc
Preview script
First 1,000 lines of the extracted script
if (typeof(this.ADBE) == "undefined")
   this.ADBE = new Object();
ADBE.LANGUAGE = "ENU";
ADBE.Viewer_string_Title = "Adobe Acrobat";
ADBE.Viewer_string_Update_Desc = "Adobe Interactive Forms Update";
ADBE.Viewer_string_Update_Reader_Desc = "Adobe Reader 7.0.5";
ADBE.Reader_string_Need_New_Version_Msg = "This PDF file requires a newer version of Adobe Reader. Press OK to download the latest version or see your system administrator.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Reader_601 = "This PDF form requires a newer version of Adobe Reader. Although the form may appear to work properly, some elements may function improperly or may not appear at all. Press OK to initiate an online update or see your system administrator.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Reader_Older = "This PDF form requires a newer version of Adobe Reader. Although the form may appear to work properly, some elements may function improperly or may not appear at all. Press OK for online download information or see your system administrator.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Viewer_601 = "This PDF form requires a newer version of Adobe Acrobat. Although the form may appear to work properly, some elements may function improperly or may not appear at all. Press OK to initiate an online update or see your system administrator.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Viewer_60 = "This PDF form requires a newer version of Adobe Acrobat. Although the form may appear to work properly, some elements may function improperly or may not appear at all. For more information please copy the following URL (CTRL+C on Win, Command-C on Mac) and paste into your browser or see your system administrator.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Viewer_Older = "This PDF requires a newer version of Acrobat. Copy this URL and paste into your browser or see your sys admin.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Reader_5x = "This PDF form requires a newer version of Adobe Reader. Without a newer version, the form may be displayed, but it might not work properly. Some form elements might not be visible at all. If an internet connection is available, clicking OK will open your browser to a web page where you can obtain the latest version.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Reader_6_7x = "This PDF form requires a newer version of Adobe Reader. Without a newer version, the form may be displayed, but it might not work properly. Some form elements might not be visible at all. If an internet connection is available, clicking OK will download and install the latest version.";
ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Viewer_7x = "This PDF form requires a newer version of Adobe Acrobat. Without a newer version, the form may be displayed, but it might not work properly. Some form elements might not be visible at all. If an internet connection is available, clicking OK will download and install the latest version.";
javascript_obj1522_002.js pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 1522 at offset 0x32B3 1535 bytes
SHA-256: 04ceb4c2218e7db19a6e007ca4ce846f92c17fff5eaf3a611e71bbd7a5726917
Preview script
First 1,000 lines of the extracted script
if (typeof(xfa_installed) == "undefined" || typeof(xfa_version) == "undefined" || xfa_version < 2.1)
{
   if (app.viewerType == "Reader")
   {
      if (ADBE.Reader_Value_Asked != true)
      {
         if (app.viewerVersion < 6.0)
         {
            if (app.alert(ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Reader_5x, 1, 1) == 1)
               this.getURL(ADBE.Reader_Value_New_Version_URL + ADBE.SYSINFO, false);
            ADBE.Reader_Value_Asked = true;
         }
         else if (app.viewerVersion < 7.0)
         {
            if (app.alert(ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Reader_601, 1, 1) == 1)
               app.findComponent({cType:"App", cName:"Reader7", cDesc: ADBE.Viewer_string_Update_Reader_Desc});
            ADBE.Reader_Value_Asked = true;
         }
         else
         {
            if (app.alert(ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Reader_6_7x, 1, 1) == 1)
               app.findComponent({cType:"Plugin", cName:"XFA", cDesc: ADBE.Viewer_string_Update_Reader_Desc});
            ADBE.Reader_Value_Asked = true;
         }
      }
   }
   else
   {
      if (ADBE.Viewer_Value_Asked != true)
      {
         if (app.viewerVersion < 7.0)
            app.response({cQuestion: ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Viewer_Older, cDefault: ADBE.Viewer_Value_New_Version_URL + ADBE.SYSINFO, cTitle: ADBE.Viewer_string_Title});
         else if (app.alert(ADBE.Viewer_Form_string_Viewer_7x, 1, 1) == 1)
            app.findComponent({cType:"Plugin", cName:"XFA", cDesc: ADBE.Viewer_string_Update_Desc});
         ADBE.Viewer_Value_Asked = true;
      }
   }
}
stream_004_off000035bd.bin decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x35BD 1897 bytes
SHA-256: bec6159663596fab9cbb35c31d8a1164f7678df36df09e813af56a0a389fc3e6
stream_005_off000038c6.js decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x38C6 720911 bytes
SHA-256: 53defa33f29f9b7090a42fae828c591759c2cf2cc75fdc38f0e270fc50b90fe4
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 17 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
stream_006_off000276e0.bin decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x276E0 4753 bytes
SHA-256: f64a0cc3286bcb96b7dbeb0685d83beebbf32c5562495b959ae8bab037be067d
stream_007_off00027aa6.bin decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x27AA6 322 bytes
SHA-256: 0e129c8d682fc497091c09841e1166d19dbf17aee25d8aed75f47400eeb5123a

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