Malicious Office (OLE) / .XLS — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 71444376cd428f19…

MALICIOUS

Office (OLE) / .XLS

66.5 KB Created: 2020-09-20 21:17:44
MD5: a86efdb09b8ec5a298f512459ff8d64d SHA-1: 17a9506e70c78f7de865af5be040384997bba4cb SHA-256: 71444376cd428f1934e94d2933197c4f0bfe03019b845a81fdeb922bcae95d7a
220 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204.002 Malicious File T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment

The sample contains Excel 4.0 macros that are configured to auto-execute upon opening. These macros construct and run a PowerShell command to download a file named 'ye.exe' from the URL 'https://tinyurl.com/y6ak9qcl'. The subsequent macro commands then move 'ye.exe' to the user's appdata directory and execute it, indicating a downloader or dropper functionality.

Heuristics 5

  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    oletools recovered an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry from an Excel 4.0 macro sheet. The raw BIFF name can be tokenized or partially opaque to byte-string checks, but the recovered macro listing confirms the workbook has an XLM auto-execution entry.
  • XLM Auto_Open with dangerous formula APIs critical OLE_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet contains an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry and dangerous XLM formula APIs that can invoke programs, write files, or transfer control without VBA.
  • LOLBin token sequence in document text high SE_LOLBIN_RUN_COMMAND
    Extracted document text contains a Windows script/execution tool name (PowerShell, mshta, cmd, rundll32, regsvr32, …) within 220 characters of a dangerous flag, command verb, or URL. This is a visible 'run this' instruction in HTML/PDF/RTF lure bodies, or — in macro-laden Office files — the macro's own string-pool entries appearing adjacent in extracted text.
  • Suspicious extracted artifact high 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.
  • Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet present medium OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN
    Workbook contains an Excel 4.0 macro sheet sub-stream — XLM is rarely seen in modern legitimate workbooks and was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022.

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_macros.txt
09b0020daccd5ea40ae24751870e13f4189224f85ba938a53147ec319a83617b
xlm-macro oletools.olevba.extract_all_macros (XLM macro listing) 811 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved macro source contains an auto-exec entry point and execution/download terms.