Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 48e1a716e250dc4d…

MALICIOUS

PDF

29.3 KB
MD5: 0bb0799eb49d8dcd6832cc7a2fcfdf6e SHA-1: c60cf492505316f60e572c7cd6ee9c3e296b2609 SHA-256: 48e1a716e250dc4dda8c1eefecbdafbb8bc1595299f727bccde9369ab48ea930
274 Risk Score

Malware Insights

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

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that utilizes eval() and unescape() functions, indicating obfuscation. This script is likely designed to exploit a PDF vulnerability, as suggested by the 'Pdf.Exploit.Agent' ClamAV detections. The embedded JavaScript and the presence of a RichMedia (Flash) object point towards a malicious exploit delivery mechanism. The primary intent appears to be the execution of a second-stage payload, potentially downloaded from an external source, as evidenced by the embedded artifacts and heuristic firings.

Heuristics 10

  • ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-36098 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-36098
  • 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.
  • RichMedia (Flash) high PDF_RICHMEDIA
    PDF contains /RichMedia (Adobe Flash) which is a historic exploit vector
  • eval() call high PDF_EVAL
    eval() found — commonly used for obfuscated exploit execution (matched inside decoded stream)
  • unescape() call high PDF_UNESCAPE
    unescape() found — often used to decode shellcode in PDF JS exploits (matched inside decoded stream)
  • 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
  • String.fromCharCode low PDF_FROMCHARCODE
    String.fromCharCode found — used to construct payload strings dynamically. Common in benign JavaScript libraries for codepoint manipulation, so this alone is informational; weaponised use is also caught by the dedicated fromCharCode-stage and exploit-shape rules. (matched inside decoded stream)
  • 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 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
embedded_file_obj0016.bin
a98024b4ee1377e872e3ebaf1c361600c270db5fd5ba79f256106c0c566dde29
pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 16 at offset 0xC3C 26777 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35955
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact entropy is 7.99, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
javascript_obj0006_000.js
e1ab3bbf30605cecdce6db9d2556198626dbb178f7a4cb471a9436bb6e8bd92f
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 6 at offset 0x840 462 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 3 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
legacy_pdfkit_stage_000.js
64e8ab19f915738d33690b0cb1e03b888ea7ac82ff078f16996bfdf85825f3d6
deobfuscated-js repeated-marker hex decoded JavaScript at offset 0x64 3500 bytes