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

Static analysis result for SHA-256 8969aeeca8705eb2…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

104.3 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300
MD5: b20561d16c70e90929f1c8cf1f3d300f SHA-1: 12c725b0fdd5ed538ce1b49441afb6c043cc863c SHA-256: 8969aeeca8705eb2e87489a30dde4c351e5d95eff15051383b3d4c4e31e213e1
310 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1218.011 System Binary Proxy Execution: Rundll32 T1059.005 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Visual Basic T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This Excel macro-enabled document (XLSM) utilizes Excel 4.0 macros, specifically leveraging dangerous functions like FORMULA to execute arbitrary code. The macros are designed to download a payload from one of the provided URLs, specifically "http://thangnhomlocphat.com/lhwn3i_malware/F5V/", and save it as "..\iix.ocx" in the SysWow64 directory. It then uses rundll32.exe to execute the downloaded component, indicating a downloader or initial access stage.

Heuristics 8

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (3 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: Win.Malware.Agent-9991551-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Win.Malware.Agent-9991551-0
  • 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.
  • External relationship medium OOXML_EXTERNAL_REL
    External target in xl/externalLinks/_rels/externalLink1.xml.rels: 1.xlsm
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 6 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://thangnhomlocphat.com/lhwn3i_malware/F5V/
    • http://b-lubisi-motivational-speaker.com/wp-admin/WRsbnGckV0NGkx8jd/
    • http://mail.skgevents.com/wp-includes/hRMV3zxexKv5RV/
    • https://disruptia.io/licenses/8UFMms/
    • http://sellin.app/wp-admin/isE7aHKfDlS/
    • 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 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
449e3a4676c371265bdc6fcfea1d283110239a1c89a653258cfab0d7b952ddc3
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1277 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
d5af617fba7b23ec0bca520f81892add6fb515970ac26e31d4dbd6a9598ebfde
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1152 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
a355d55add136d7e41aae0f697107093276374784273f7342b99a479761049c4
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3546 bytes