Malicious Office (OOXML) / .DOCX — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 51aae172a88c1a03…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .DOCX

656.8 KB Created: 2025-10-22 14:54:00 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Office Word 16.0000
MD5: bd49d0bce77adca0f31c36f29d825eed SHA-1: 86d2b7367018f2c478cb15413f183b738c71219e SHA-256: 51aae172a88c1a03ee09b0bf8e2091d5279211fb1e79bb77a1013d34808b6b1f
420 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1187 Exploitation for Client Execution T1559.002 Component Object Model Hijacking

The sample leverages OOXML altChunk to import an RTF object, which in turn contains OLE objects and PE executable data. The RTF object is designed to exploit CVE-2026-21514, a Word/OLE security bypass, to automatically update and execute the embedded executable. This indicates a downloader or dropper functionality.

Heuristics 11

  • Composite Moniker in RTF OLE object high CVE related RTF_COMPOSITE_MONIKER_RELATED
    (in altChunk RTF word/Strea.rtf) RTF contains Composite Moniker CLSID in OLE object context, but no nearby scriptlet/SCT payload was confirmed. Treat as related moniker attack-surface evidence rather than proof of CVE-2017-8570 exploitation.
  • CVE-2026-21514 — Word/OLE security bypass in RTF high CVE likely CVE_2026_21514
    (in altChunk RTF word/Strea.rtf) RTF contains a hidden \svb hex package with DrsE2oDoc and downRevStg drawing compatibility parts. This matches an observed CVE-2026-21514 exploitation shape that manipulates Word's internal document structure and trust decisions.
  • altChunk imports embedded RTF (RTF injection) critical OOXML_ALTCHUNK_RTF
    Document inlines an embedded RTF via an aFChunk relationship and a <w:altChunk> body element. This is the canonical RTF-injection wrapper used to smuggle RTF exploits (Equation Editor / URL Moniker / objdata) past DOCX-only scanners. Word opens the wrapper and executes the RTF inline. Recursing into the RTF for the exact exploit primitive.
  • PE header (with DOS stub) in hex data critical RTF_MZ_HEX
    (in altChunk RTF word/Strea.rtf) Hex-encoded PE (MZ + DOS stub) found inside RTF — likely an embedded executable payload
  • altChunk RTF auto-updates embedded executable object critical OOXML_ALTCHUNK_RTF_AUTOUPDATE_PE
    OOXML document imports an embedded RTF through altChunk; the RTF contains OLE object data, forces object update, and carries a hex-encoded PE payload. This is a stronger compound exploit-loader shape than a generic altChunk RTF wrapper, but it is not tied to a single CVE unless the nested RTF object primitive also matches one.
  • \objupdate forces OLE activation high RTF_OBJUPDATE
    (in altChunk RTF word/Strea.rtf) RTF contains \objupdate — forces automatic OLE object instantiation when the document is opened, bypassing user interaction. Almost exclusively seen in Equation Editor exploit documents.
  • Large hex data blocks in OLE object high RTF_EXCESSIVE_HEX
    (in altChunk RTF word/Strea.rtf) RTF contains ~1903KB of hex-encoded data inside \objdata sections — may hide a payload
  • External relationship high OOXML_EXTERNAL_REL
    External target in word/_rels/settings.xml.rels: file:///C:\Users\John\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Student report with photo.dotx
  • OLE object data medium RTF_OBJDATA
    (in altChunk RTF word/Strea.rtf) RTF contains 2 \objdata section(s) — embedded OLE objects
  • Embedded OLE object medium RTF_OBJEMB
    (in altChunk RTF word/Strea.rtf) RTF contains \objemb — embedded OLE object
  • 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://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2010/wordprocessingCanvas
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/drawing/2014/chartex
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/math
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2010/wordprocessingDrawing
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/drawingml/2006/wordprocessingDrawing
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2010/wordml
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2012/wordml
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2015/wordml/symex
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2010/wordprocessingGroup
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2010/wordprocessingInk
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2006/wordml
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word/2010/wordprocessingShape

Extracted artifacts 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
objdata_00_off000af73f.bin
599b9755c78b27da05850e2eed314e9d824553522420bacdcf4007d375d586c6
rtf-objdata-decoded RTF \objdata at offset 0xAF73F 847514 bytes
objdata_01_off00258bcf.bin
24ee741dd41bc27803d80f81b66eba686fe8f5d17bd847727dc5d94834bd3188
rtf-objdata-decoded RTF \objdata at offset 0x258BCF 584826 bytes
rtf_svb_00000009.zip
2352c9fffd0fd8eba341b4fd80ae0a94a85929bec042e2061b1f17cd52df50f2
rtf-svb-package RTF \svb hex-decoded ZIP at offset 0x9 116884 bytes