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

Static analysis result for SHA-256 6dbc537d23144b26…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

285.4 KB Created: 2021-08-16 09:36:27 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 12.0000
MD5: 31768471945e6ca95322da8080a89296 SHA-1: ed27cd813c1d3aa8e18566f7eaa974da2a5c2009 SHA-256: 6dbc537d23144b267f2cf60ec2c92aa8a785ed95edecaa9586aa2bbf2628b51a
190 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution

The sample is an XLSM file containing Excel 4.0 macros, indicated by the 'OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET' and 'OOXML_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME' heuristics. The macros utilize dangerous functions like 'EXEC' and 'FOPEN' to write and execute a script located at 'C:\ProgramData\QdCxTbYphUuRZG.sct'. This indicates a downloader or dropper functionality, aiming to execute a second-stage payload.

Heuristics 5

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (1 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: FOPEN, FWRITE, FCLOSE, EXEC, HALT 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.
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 1 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://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2006/main
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
77bb7ef29df80e2ff03418fb1fd32f6290eb0e5fac9353ceb35cc964accde8f3		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1005399 bytes

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