Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 45d5378b24240f32…

MALICIOUS

PDF

6.7 KB
MD5: ee8d05aaa483bc8ce691ccf858e677fa SHA-1: 522fbcca078c3b855fc93fcb4f7f6c45d7403863 SHA-256: 45d5378b24240f325eff01b6a7227b4560c56d4953ba180087e1471d0f934bc1
96 Risk Score

Malware Insights

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

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that leverages the CVE-2014-0496 vulnerability through app.addToolButton/removeToolButton. This script is further obfuscated and appears to decode a base26-encoded payload, likely for downloading and executing a second-stage malicious file. The presence of XFA and AcroForm elements suggests a complex PDF structure designed to hide malicious actions.

Heuristics 7

  • app.addToolButton/removeToolButton — CVE-2014-0496 critical CVE exact CVE_2014_0496
    PDF JavaScript combines app.addToolButton() and app.removeToolButton() with heap-spray shellcode markers — the public Adobe Reader/Acrobat ToolButton use-after-free exploit shape for CVE-2014-0496. (identified after JavaScript deobfuscation)
  • 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
  • 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://ns.adobe.com/xdp/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xci/2.8/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.5/

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0003_000.js
7e9e9510dacea538993bc75afdfead823c14881660858680e3e63c229bb547aa
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 3 at offset 0x409 15394 bytes
base26_stage_000.js
658ae2e55ae37e98c0978839a8d0c18cc7d1dd1f4252c5d34f876f99cb4d0aad
deobfuscated-js base26-decoded JavaScript (decompressed) at offset 0x60D 5859 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 44 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).