PDF malware analysis — malicious · 5152c962ff188350

MALICIOUS

PDF

187.2 KB Created: 2017-08-04 12:46:31 UTC Authoring application: TeX (via MiKTeX pdfTeX-1.40.17)

MD5: d437de689a44e69ad9653490b527088f SHA-1: 9afa62f7e9506022904643d94c8280d232507722 SHA-256: 5152c962ff1883505ce8ec17811fd985447a93fbdf18c6775480845d7dd77428

516 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript and a launch action that targets cmd.exe, indicating an attempt to execute arbitrary commands. A critical heuristic identified an embedded Windows executable payload masquerading as a PDF file, named 'math.pdf'. This payload was further flagged by ClamAV as Win.Trojan.MSShellcode-7. The combination of these findings strongly suggests a malicious document designed to deliver and execute a secondary payload.

Machine Learning

Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 0.9955

Heuristics 12

Adobe Reader Launch action command execution critical CVE exact CVE_2010_1240

PDF uses the Adobe Reader/Acrobat Launch action pattern associated with CVE-2010-1240: cmd.exe is invoked with attacker-controlled parameters, paired with an embedded/exported payload.
Launch action critical PDF_LAUNCH

PDF contains a /Launch action whose target is an executable, URL, or UNC path — can start an external application
Embedded Windows executable payload in PDF stream critical PDF_EMBEDDED_PE_PAYLOAD

PDF stream bytes contain an embedded Windows executable with a verified PE header. Exploit chains often hide droppers inside ordinary streams rather than standard /EmbeddedFile attachments.
/Launch action target: cmd.exe critical PDF_LAUNCH_COMMAND

PDF /Launch action specifies an executable target with parameters '/Q /C %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\math.pdf" (cd "Desktop"' — references a known-dangerous executable (cmd, PowerShell, etc.).
Embedded attachment masquerades: declared document, content is windows-executable critical PDF_EMBEDDED_FILESPEC_CONTENT_MISMATCH

An /EmbeddedFile attachment's declared filename extension or /Subtype MIME type contradicts the magic bytes of its decompressed content. The attachment is declared as a benign document or image but the bytes are an executable or executable-bearing archive. This is a deliberate deception used to hide droppers in PDF attachments and is a generic indicator of embed-and-drop weaponisation, independent of any specific CVE.
ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION

ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
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.
/Launch action paired with attachment-dropping JS API high PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JS

PDF combines a /Launch action with a JavaScript API call that writes or opens an attached/external resource — the canonical shape of the CVE-2010-1240 /Launch + exportDataObject family. Benign PDFs do not pair these surfaces; the combination indicates a drop-and-execute chain regardless of the specific JS API knobs or /Launch target.
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
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 7

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`math.pdf` `a8af839669032d7706dd50c4832975355171bdb93ef87e87debd31801b6e78e9`	pdf-embedded-file	PDF EmbeddedFile object 228 at offset 0x23C26	73802 bytes
Detection ClamAV: Win.Trojan.MSShellcode-7 Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
`javascript_obj0229_000.js` `ff01c43fef6ce43e3f48a976e49ad5f9539195804ab42c870e34672c22983e44`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 229 at offset 0x2E84D	53 bytes
`font_00_type1_off00016e05.bin` `c85e70b5306a04589e567e7521fc4f74230d7dbf4d2780cb0c1f84879fdb6924`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x16E05	11194 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.90, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
`font_01_type1_off00019925.bin` `4abecec04823017ced1d690f97988c135cf5eb84e563bb5eb0438ea183027ea2`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x19925	11711 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.90, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
`font_02_type1_off0001c622.bin` `3932613c86c5d5910218cf60ea103f5c4755bfd1203da1af211fdb849f81ac38`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x1C622	8958 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.86, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
`font_03_type1_off0001e8bd.bin` `03bd27f81b3d08969581a26e18cef6f41af8cdf82302f88ccb51e791f77a7f52`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x1E8BD	7832 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.85, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
`font_04_type1_off000206f9.bin` `71560e402607a269a2a558903177519106dc8596e8ff1d3159ae79a8fd68c0d4`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x206F9	7629 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.84, consistent with packed or encrypted content.

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