Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 54ca68909bab4851…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

46.5 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-02
MD5: 95c578827d37ac7a26d9ffd8c9a99c94 SHA-1: 17a036bbfe800b1cf60fc26944be3ab72a39f85f SHA-256: 54ca68909bab4851f2bf9234136fc9a1901ad2cfcfb455ea2dc031891b7e3310
250 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Service Execution: Service Utility T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File Execution: User Execution T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

The file is an XLSM document containing Excel 4.0 macros, as indicated by multiple critical heuristic firings including 'OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET' and 'OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN'. The macros utilize dangerous formula APIs like FORMULA to download payloads from a list of provided URLs. The ClamAV detection 'Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9940726-0' strongly suggests the Emotet family. The script's intent is to download and execute a second-stage payload using the listed URLs and the regsvr32.exe utility.

Heuristics 6

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (3 sheet(s)) critical OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET
    Spreadsheet contains an Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet — XLM was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022 and evaded many VBA-focused controls before Microsoft tightened XLM defaults. Even legitimate XLM use is rare in modern workbooks.
  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OOXML_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    Workbook defines _xlnm.Auto_Open or _xlnm.Auto_Close while containing an XLM macro sheet. This is the OOXML/XLSB auto-execution shape for Excel 4.0 macros.
  • Dangerous XLM formula APIs: FORMULA critical OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet uses formula APIs that call directly into Win32 (=CALL/=EXEC/=REGISTER/=FORMULA). These are the primitives used to download payloads, write files, and start processes from an XLM macro without invoking VBA.
  • ClamAV: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9940726-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9940726-0
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 5 hidden sheet(s) — hidden sheets are commonly used to conceal macro code, staging data, or intermediate payload construction
  • 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://rosywhitecleaningsolution.com/wp-admin/PqMw6fND8Bb1I4VPR10/
    • http://aopda.org/wp-content/uploads/RDL75PME7OKHk4f/
    • http://havilaholuemglobal.com/dofz29/ymIfCcEL8I5kjA6E/
    • https://chera.co.kr/wp-includes/i2nnUkDXZ/
    • http://www.floresguitarinstruction.com/wp-admin/jWlCX/
    • http://www.drcc.co.za/restoredcontent/nAKvnbRpazx7c/
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2006/main
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2009/9/ac
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2014/revision
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2015/revision2
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision3
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision6

Extracted artifacts 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
c2beed76b90707ab99d3556b095847fbe67565665bab2978d4d40d1b769c68e7		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 4017 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
3f1e04bcb932a0d7a0ca09ad6e05d398d7a144c4cda86314010c0ec3e9f94573		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1278 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
3877aa64e871d2d6fcc766f5b3af64ba0d301f656023d2e6e43652b8210d827c		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1152 bytes

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