Malicious Office (OOXML) / .XLSM — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 42278e9a0589ab2b…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

270.9 KB Created: 2021-08-16 09:36:27 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 12.0000
MD5: 13d41295c82eee41a4fe4501cf309bb1 SHA-1: b3f96d35c5d65e513ecfc6a032878b061adcc8e2 SHA-256: 42278e9a0589ab2bedb560a070ff7b58350816e6cf99d7f5e8f3fce5814a23cc
218 Risk Score

Malware Insights

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

This Excel 4.0 macro sheet (XLSM) contains a hidden sheet and uses dangerous functions like FOPEN, FWRITE, and EXEC. The macro reconstructs the path 'C:\ProgramData\XgmwQpuRJXPEovr.sct' and uses FOPEN to write data to it, likely to download and execute a second-stage payload. The presence of an external hyperlink to 'www.shipco.com' suggests a potential lure related to shipping information. The use of Excel 4.0 macros for execution is a common technique for delivering malware.

Heuristics 7

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (1 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: FOPEN, FWRITE, FCLOSE, EXEC, HALT 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.
  • Macro/content-enable lure medium SE_ENABLE_LURE
    Document instructs the user to enable macros or editing — a common technique used by malware droppers to bypass Office macro security settings
  • External hyperlinks (1) low OOXML_EXTERNAL_HYPERLINKS
    Document contains 1 external hyperlink — clickable URLs are stored as external relationships. First target: http://www.shipco.com/ecommerce/sch/scheduleindex.php
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 1 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://www.shipco.com/ecommerce/sch/scheduleindex.php
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2006/main
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
0822c99f6013bf9d45fb9db5aed483e0970ddf4834a71c0deb66e2a5b56dc6a2		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1645347 bytes

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