PDF malware analysis — malicious · 7178c26181cb7ed9

MALICIOUS

PDF

927.0 KB Created: 2012-07-05 00:27:01 +03:00 Authoring application: Microsoft® Office Word 2007

MD5: 2e9c342af4e6d07f060b343c369d2190 SHA-1: 9f6f744d6c8730ae7aff2a6a5bff77ec5fea126a SHA-256: 7178c26181cb7ed9167fe47780d45b489f7d3f34849eb919aa1584126462b00b

614 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment

This PDF document contains embedded JavaScript that leverages a launch action to execute cmd.exe. The command executed is designed to potentially interact with the file system and execute further commands. Critically, an embedded executable payload, detected by ClamAV as Win.Trojan.MSShellcode-6360730-0, is also present and disguised as a PDF. This indicates a multi-stage attack where the PDF acts as a dropper for a malicious executable.

Machine Learning

Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 0.9965

Heuristics 13

Adobe Reader Launch action command execution critical CVE exact CVE_2010_1240

PDF 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 CVE related PDF_CVE_2023_26369_RELATED

PDF 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.
Launch action critical PDF_LAUNCH

PDF 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_PAYLOAD

PDF 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_COMMAND

PDF /Launch action specifies an executable target with parameters '/Q /C %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\12-83-1-PB.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_MISMATCH

An /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.
PDF JavaScript exploit cluster critical PDF_JS_EXPLOIT_CLUSTER

PDF 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.
ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION

ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
ClamAV detection on extracted artifact critical EXTRACTED_FILE_CLAMAV

ClamAV flagged at least one file extracted from inside this sample. Even when the wrapping document carries no AV detection of its own, a hit on the carved artifact is a strong indicator the sample is a delivery vehicle.
/Launch action paired with attachment-dropping JS API high PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JS

PDF 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.
JavaScript action low PDF_JAVASCRIPT

PDF contains a /JavaScript action. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
Embedded JS stream low PDF_JS

PDF references a /JS stream. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDED

PDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`12-83-1-PB.pdf` `d7cee96e97cb820760dcd3bf168664223d913f75bd7ef2178b4d545ceb0f5231`	pdf-embedded-file	PDF EmbeddedFile object 991 at offset 0xDE719	79623 bytes
Detection ClamAV: Win.Trojan.MSShellcode-6360730-0 Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
`javascript_obj0992_000.js` `3a05156e1b22e670b068ff066be447bd15ad9e0ebed54b716fc754beab383c27`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 992 at offset 0xE7635	59 bytes

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