Emotet — Office (OLE) / .XLSX malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 4bbe353e696bedc2…

MALICIOUS

Office (OLE) / .XLSX

155.5 KB Created: 2022-01-27 11:58:35 Authoring application: Microsoft Excel
MD5: 47214adb8476a69765188859423815e1 SHA-1: 7f6e668c7bc72305340fa58bd7b6472180e17b4a SHA-256: 4bbe353e696bedc2da6187a8487ffc4f4e5418d99325292861457a4d624f636c
322 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.001 PowerShell

The sample contains Excel 4.0 macros, specifically an Auto_Open function that is configured to execute a dangerous formula. This macro is designed to download and execute a second-stage payload from the URL http://91.240.118.168/qqqw/aaas/se.html using mshta.exe. The ClamAV detection name 'Xls.Downloader.Emotet' strongly suggests the Emotet family, which commonly uses macro-enabled documents for initial infection. The presence of mshta.exe and a remote URL points to a downloader attack pattern.

Heuristics 8

  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    oletools recovered an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry from an Excel 4.0 macro sheet. The raw BIFF name can be tokenized or partially opaque to byte-string checks, but the recovered macro listing confirms the workbook has an XLM auto-execution entry.
  • XLM Auto_Open with dangerous formula APIs critical OLE_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet contains an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry and dangerous XLM formula APIs that can invoke programs, write files, or transfer control without VBA.
  • ClamAV: Xls.Downloader.Emotet-a5251d1d2d6d3726-9951018-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet-a5251d1d2d6d3726-9951018-0
  • Reference to mshta.exe high SC_STR_MSHTA
    Reference to mshta.exe
  • LOLBin token sequence in document text high SE_LOLBIN_RUN_COMMAND
    Extracted document text contains a Windows script/execution tool name (PowerShell, mshta, cmd, rundll32, regsvr32, …) within 220 characters of a dangerous flag, command verb, or URL. This is a visible 'run this' instruction in HTML/PDF/RTF lure bodies, or — in macro-laden Office files — the macro's own string-pool entries appearing adjacent in extracted text.
  • 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.
  • Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet present medium OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN
    Workbook contains an Excel 4.0 macro sheet sub-stream — XLM is rarely seen in modern legitimate workbooks and was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022.
  • 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://91.240.118.168/qqqw/aaas/se.htmlB
    • http://91.240.118.168/qqqw/aaas/se.html

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_macros.txt
ed8983cfed67fcfa9f517c83d0e90708284a746a25a311cb284638eaeddfa242		 xlm-macro oletools.olevba.extract_all_macros (XLM macro listing) 3733 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 shell/COM execution token(s). Carved macro source contains an auto-exec entry point and execution/download terms.

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