MALICIOUS
696
Risk Score
Malware Insights
MITRE ATT&CK
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution
T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment
T1059.007 JavaScript
This PDF file exploits CVE-2010-1240 and potentially CVE-2023-26369 to execute arbitrary code. It uses JavaScript to export a data object named 'malo' which is actually a Windows executable disguised as a PDF. The embedded executable is detected as a Trojan by ClamAV. The document body contains commands that suggest an attempt to navigate directories and launch the embedded file.
Machine Learning
- Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 1.0000
Heuristics 15
-
Adobe Reader Launch action command execution critical CVE exact CVE_2010_1240PDF 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.
-
TrueType bitmap font + active content — CVE-2023-26369 related high PDF_CVE_2023_26369_RELATEDPDF embeds a TrueType font with bitmap tables (EBDT/sbix/CBDT) alongside exploit delivery indicators — CVE-2023-26369 exploits the sfac_GetSbitBitmap function in Adobe's libCoolType for arbitrary code execution. This CVE was actively exploited in the wild, but this rule does not validate the malformed EBLC/EBDT primitive.
-
ClamAV: Pdf.Dropper.Agent-7265450-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTIONClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Dropper.Agent-7265450-0
-
Launch action critical PDF_LAUNCHPDF 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_PAYLOADPDF 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_COMMANDPDF /Launch action specifies an executable target with parameters '/Q /C %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\malo.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_MISMATCHAn /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.
-
Suspicious extracted artifact critical EXTRACTED_FILE_STATIC_TRIAGEOne 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.
-
JavaScript action low 2 related findings PDF_JAVASCRIPTPDF contains a /JavaScript action. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
-
PDF JavaScript exploit cluster critical PDF_JS_EXPLOIT_CLUSTERPDF combines an executable JavaScript/action surface with exploit staging indicators such as eval/unescape/fromCharCode, XFA script content, or a related CVE pattern. Benign form JavaScript remains low-severity, but this correlated cluster is high-confidence malicious behavior.
-
Embedded JS stream low PDF_JSPDF references a /JS stream. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
-
/Launch action paired with attachment-dropping JS API high PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JSPDF 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.
-
Image-only document with action trigger (screenshot lure) medium PDF_IMAGE_LUREPDF has 1 image(s), only 0 text block(s), carries a click-outward action, and is only 273 KB — typical shape of a phishing lure where a full-page screenshot hides a clickable button that launches or submits to an attacker URL.
-
Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDEDPDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload
-
Embedded URL info EMBEDDED_URLOne 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://www.zeustech.net/ Referenced by PDF JavaScript
- http://]hostname[:port]/pathIn extracted file (malo.pdf)
- tcp://10.0.2.15:4444In extracted file (malo.pdf)
- http://www.apache.org/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
- http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ctfontshttp://lucasfonts.comMicrosoftIn extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_LicenseIn extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/default.aspxIn extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/MicrosoftTimeStampPCA.crl0XIn extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/MicrosoftTimeStampPCA.crt0In extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/MicCodSigPCA_08-31-2010.crl0ZIn extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/MicCodSigPCA_08-31-2010.crt0In extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/microsoftrootcert.crl0TIn extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/MicrosoftRootCert.crt0In extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
- http://www.microsoft.com/Typography/0In extracted file (font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin)
Extracted artifacts 3
Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.
| Filename | Kind | Source | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
malo.pdf |
pdf-embedded-file | PDF EmbeddedFile object 23 at offset 0x3953E | 73802 bytes |
SHA-256: 05c4fd71b1af63ce5b8c035e7b59e8cb654ae03f38c48efa37173b75d4a11353 |
|||
|
Detection
ClamAV:
Win.Trojan.MSShellcode-7
Obfuscation or payload:
likely
actual_type=PE; declared_or_context_type=PDF; filename=malo.pdf; kind=pdf-embedded-file Static shellcode analysis recovered the Metasploit stager connect-back address: 10.0.2.15:4444 (reverse/x86, lab (non-routable)) Static shellcode analysis found candidate code region(s). Indicators: SC_PEB_ACCESS, SC_MSF_REVERSE, SC_PUSH_STRING Static shellcode analysis recovered API/import strings: kernel32.dll, advapi32.dll, KERNEL32.DLL, ADVAPI32.DLL, LoadLibraryA, GetProcAddress
|
|||
javascript_obj0024_000.js |
pdf-javascript-stream | PDF /JS object 24 at offset 0x4415D | 53 bytes |
SHA-256: 437fd14c2d3ef79162f01e21903e968d04780ce4dfa168158a5f66b24521f1a9 |
|||
Preview scriptFirst 1,000 lines of the extracted script
this.exportDataObject({ cName: "malo", nLaunch: 0 });
|
|||
font_00_sfnt_off000176b5.bin |
pdf-font-stream | PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x176B5 | 327848 bytes |
SHA-256: 0d5366dfcbb49d34e24ba55aa53904f36750f5e976a2f1c94ab508b78461f6e1 |
|||
Open this report in the interactive analyzer, or submit your own file for analysis.