Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 8c0aeaa71970a6e0…

MALICIOUS

PDF

12.0 KB
MD5: 59cd55665c783bdc1f225353851ce19f SHA-1: 3af86a98afd735572408e25d0ed0fdcd73518e4e SHA-256: 8c0aeaa71970a6e0e9c7cff71e0e598f350a7fc699cb4c936d9f17d2101fc8f4
98 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204.002 Malicious File: User Execution T1566.002 Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment

The file is identified as a malicious PDF by ClamAV with the signature Pdf.Exploit.Dropped-90. Static analysis indicates the presence of an embedded file and the use of ASCIIHexDecode filters, which are common indicators of PDF exploits. The PDF structure also suggests the use of XFA forms. While no specific exploit or payload is detailed, the combination of these factors strongly suggests the PDF is designed to exploit a vulnerability and drop a secondary malicious file.

Heuristics 5

  • ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Dropped-90 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Dropped-90
  • ASCIIHexDecode filter (with exploit indicators) medium PDF_FILTER_HEX
    Hex-encoding filter present alongside exploit delivery indicators — often used to hide payload or shellcode bytes
  • Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDED
    PDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload
  • XFA form low PDF_XFA
    PDF uses XML Forms Architecture — can contain script logic
  • PDF differential parser failed info PDF_DIFFERENTIAL_PARSE_FAILED
    The cross-check parser (pdfminer.six) failed on this file: PDF differential parser failed: PSSyntaxError. Static heuristics still ran and any of their findings above are valid; only the differential cross-check signal is missing.

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
embedded_file_obj0001.bin
607b420ac221ad7b9238103f3134318b8e5f4b9cd4eb457787caf7c09bf80efe
pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 1 at offset 0x5A 1874 bytes