Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 84ad53ab80132918…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

21.0 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-17
MD5: 3ad5159b60a13fd45081b4a1d10e2a95 SHA-1: d896e0b6ea68cc08efbfddd81c4e7c7e1fbfde13 SHA-256: 84ad53ab801329181d59b139709c0b92b52cc5e097373ac9c347cee936bbb571
250 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

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

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, which are known to be used for malicious purposes. The macros utilize dangerous functions like FORMULA to download payloads from multiple URLs, including http://www.bridgewien.at/admin/9Osvbo9caA4QYishnWka/. The ClamAV detection name 'Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9941789-0' strongly suggests the Emotet family and its downloader capabilities. The macros also appear to construct paths for regsvr32.exe and kytk.dll, indicating an attempt to execute a downloaded file.

Heuristics 6

  • 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: 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.Emotet03220-9941789-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9941789-0
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 4 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://www.bridgewien.at/admin/9Osvbo9caA4QYishnWka/
    • http://aleph.org.ng/wp-includes/k8YwVWkrdmUM9/
    • http://automyjniafordon.bydgoszcz.pl/123/mOWZgMaL/
    • http://autoat.mx/assets/VljikBuT029PkSBfrc/
    • http://bartboutens.nl/cgi-bin/aPqSkCZXI3ueRdI/
    • http://alkautsarlampung.sch.id/belajar/WQlNleMJKoulGBUvgC9/
    • http://www.annuncisiciliani.it/app/3l1ZgVfwIEiIcGelh/
    • 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 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
bd1141b96e73c592d43d300feb4a2bed92034dffba7d5e49bf95a81f1348fbbc		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 4144 bytes

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