Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 5f0d6b6e2e410aff…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

173.5 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-02-26
MD5: 4594b6c252a93d77f5808707cdc83bf0 SHA-1: 91ded5989e848256d2562f224ea2be74270ef058 SHA-256: 5f0d6b6e2e410aff3f7ffdca9e70c4473f98151807bccf56084f420ab2301ddd
250 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

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

The file is an Excel macro-enabled spreadsheet (XLSM) containing Excel 4.0 macros, which are known to be used for malicious purposes. The macros utilize dangerous functions like FORMULA to download and execute payloads from several suspicious URLs. ClamAV detection confirms this is Emotet, a downloader family. The script's intent is to download and execute a second-stage payload from the embedded URLs.

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.Emotet-a5251d3d2d6d3722-9951020-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet-a5251d3d2d6d3722-9951020-0
  • 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 https://realitevirtuelleguadeloupe.com/warp-visa/xogkV/
    • https://nuugebeya.com/wp-content/LqCYYSBQ/
    • https://larassatistore.com/mail.tie-collection.my.id/SZZ0/
    • https://bimbeladzkia.com/1600-arrow/njvK9lEVwMfxQyw/
    • https://vendedoramigo.com.br/wp-admin/tfQwLyk4/
    • 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
90e37e1ee0ab1fa1161bc9308b04f0f335c97d1feb756097ceb983695c1599e5
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3554 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
966e861f35410708893ffb1f97241504111fc93333012aa9c7613d379c3c60bb
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1204 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
60579741b1b65a4181fd818a651bece32da461189f50a30098e233a7c5fed525
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1227 bytes