PDF malware analysis — malicious · 906944c2fef4855e

MALICIOUS

PDF

110.2 KB Created: 2010-04-12 18:38:02 Authoring application: FPDF 1.53

MD5: 5a68a1d7f2bb20c2fb2df1a139da6599 SHA-1: 28708e03282ea4dc6e24960a4000e1deb1729e6a SHA-256: 906944c2fef4855eddb5ee4f6bca436530d7792d45dafcab9cec74a241ee2d5e

486 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

T1204.002 Malicious File T1566.002 Spearphishing Attachment T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.001 User Execution: Malicious Link T1059.003 Windows Command Shell

The PDF file contains a JavaScript action that triggers a launch action, executing cmd.exe. This command is used to launch an embedded Windows executable disguised as 'Royal_Mail_Delivery_Notice.pdf'. The embedded executable was detected by ClamAV as Win.Trojan.Zbot-53656, indicating it is likely a Zbot variant. The overall attack pattern is a social engineering lure using a fake delivery notice to trick the user into executing a malicious payload.

Heuristics 12

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.
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\\Royal_Mail_Delivery_Notice.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.
ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-22108 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION

ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-22108
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
Suspicious extracted artifact info 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.

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`Royal_Mail_Delivery_Notice.pdf` `95638f2fedf39f97c30394bb26603b4252f5d14334bcff73a8fc951de1501d09`	pdf-embedded-file	PDF EmbeddedFile object 12 at offset 0xA72	116224 bytes
Detection ClamAV: Win.Trojan.Zbot-53656 Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.84, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
`javascript_obj0013_000.js` `39fdc3b2a427c768e540b048d2e25b784f6f21879f33dad6ae0a99cdbc1f179d`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 13 at offset 0x1B511	75 bytes

Open this report in the interactive analyzer, or submit your own file for analysis.