PDF malware analysis — malicious · 53189aa12d573c28

MALICIOUS

PDF

17.4 KB

MD5: 081388d1672c6bdd94afeafa186e59bd SHA-1: 53910c8a591e1a6274600ca32f47c65cbf4a3294 SHA-256: 53189aa12d573c2826ae7e5bf5c2565be124678c159360b946a82ee2201ce5e1

234 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File

The PDF document contains embedded JavaScript that is heavily obfuscated and designed as a multi-stage dropper. The critical heuristic 'CVE_2007_5659' indicates the exploitation of a known vulnerability in Adobe Reader related to the 'Collab.collectEmailInfo' function. The JavaScript is decoded using hex encoding and then evaluated, likely to download and execute a secondary payload. The presence of multiple JavaScript streams and the 'PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER' heuristic further support this conclusion. No specific family could be identified, but the delivery mechanism is clear.

Heuristics 9

Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 critical CVE exact CVE_2007_5659

PDF JavaScript calls Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 is a buffer overflow in Adobe Reader triggered by a long argument or heap-sprayed message field passed to Collab.collectEmailInfo(). Part of a series of Acrobat JS API exploits. (identified after JavaScript deobfuscation)
ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION

ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901
Annotation subject callee-key hex JavaScript stager high PDF_ANNOT_SUBJECT_CALLEE_HEX_STAGER

PDF JavaScript uses syncAnnotScan()/getAnnots() to read an indirect annotation /Subject stream, percent-decodes it through marker replacement, then uses a callee.toString()-derived key to decode and eval the final exploit stage.
Obfuscated multi-stage PDF JavaScript dropper high PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER

PDF JavaScript shows 4 independent signals of exploit-kit-style multi-stage obfuscation: annot_subject_stage, hex_codec_loop, incremental_eval_build, repeated_pluginschk. This is strongly consistent with pre-2011 Adobe Reader PDF droppers — OpenAction JS reads encoded data from annotation subjects, decodes it through one or more hex / base-N loops, and invokes eval indirectly (method name built one character at a time). The actual CVE is hidden in the final decoded layer and is not visible via static analysis.
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.
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)
syncAnnotScan annotation-staging primitive low PDF_FOXIT_SYNCANNOTSCAN

PDF JavaScript calls syncAnnotScan() — a no-op annotation-enumeration primitive used by exploit-kit JavaScript to stage payload reads from annotation /Subject fields before eval(). Not a vulnerable sink itself; rarely seen in legitimate PDFs. (matched in decompressed 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.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`javascript_obj0009_000.js` `4718a27c2224fc36bf24f8e8e04598f1ad78adce4401c7be2708318738a6983d`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 9 at offset 0x4346	469 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact contains 1 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
`annotation_subject_callee_hex_stage_000.js` `c830d00b84239a68aef6f6d39c9d235b8a59397ad40e32d1e1ff85508d67c8de`	deobfuscated-js	annotation-subject callee-key decoded JavaScript at offset 0x1AB1	5384 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact contains 5 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
`deobfuscated.js` `281e41ecb5e8f121c8a672d3bebe1805bd07d512c4533fa1300d66d48d6a6ee7`	deobfuscated-js	PDF JavaScript deobfuscation pass	98254 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact contains 6 eval/decoder/string-building token(s). Carved artifact contains 3 long base64-like blob(s).

Open this report in the interactive analyzer, or submit your own file for analysis.