Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 4a14d2590ad6edbc…

MALICIOUS

PDF

6.7 KB
MD5: 5c519471847ca68ab69318c263f36aba SHA-1: 623ab988cb644562399ce02af15a2e91c1f83fc9 SHA-256: 4a14d2590ad6edbc99a30d86d273bcaf618697863c90d5a236485a090a6922e8
132 Risk Score

Malware Insights

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

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that exploits CVE-2014-0496, a vulnerability in Adobe Reader related to app.addToolButton/removeToolButton. The critical heuristic indicates that the PDF launcher decodes base-26 character pairs, subtracts a constant, and evaluates the result, suggesting it's designed to download and execute a second-stage payload. The extracted artifact 'base26_stage_000.js' further supports this. The presence of XFA form elements and JavaScript actions points towards a malicious document designed for exploitation.

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)
  • Suspicious extracted artifact high 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.
  • 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
  • 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
0d45b0f704fb1448ee7ee0f7fd897efee0fb3ae2a248941f059d88ca71f7186d		 pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 3 at offset 0x409 15454 bytes
base26_stage_000.js
749c4a7d788668c07bcd4523f668383c3491a9eea43cf7668ba8796346d515e5		 deobfuscated-js base26-decoded JavaScript (decompressed) at offset 0x60D 5883 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 45 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).

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