Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 91ba65caaba10f71…

MALICIOUS

PDF

16.3 KB
MD5: d6dc99e4805e7fc83527da9ab44dd013 SHA-1: 46fae19407ad81d71feda6f74493c7cf022e1fdb SHA-256: 91ba65caaba10f71bebcb7b2b916857970d8c47aca743bd27f84a9e966325c9b
194 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File

The PDF file contains obfuscated JavaScript, identified as a multi-stage dropper. This script is designed to exploit CVE-2007-5659, likely by leveraging the Collab.collectEmailInfo method. The deobfuscation process revealed layered obfuscation techniques, including hex-codec loops and incremental eval builds, indicating a deliberate effort to conceal the malicious payload. The primary function of the script appears to be downloading and executing a second-stage payload, as suggested by the 'PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER' heuristic.

Heuristics 8

  • Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 critical CVE exact CVE_2007_5659
    PDF JavaScript calls Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 is a buffer overflow in Adobe Reader triggered by a long argument or heap-sprayed message field passed to Collab.collectEmailInfo(). Part of a series of Acrobat JS API exploits. (identified after static deobfuscation)
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901
  • Obfuscated multi-stage PDF JavaScript dropper high PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER
    PDF JavaScript shows 5 independent signals of exploit-kit-style multi-stage obfuscation: annot_subject_stage, hex_codec_loop, hex_dashed_payload, incremental_eval_build, repeated_pluginschk. This is strongly consistent with pre-2011 Adobe Reader PDF droppers — OpenAction JS reads encoded data from annotation subjects, decodes it through one or more hex / base-N loops, and invokes eval indirectly (method name built one character at a time). The actual CVE is hidden in the final decoded layer and is not visible via static analysis.
  • 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.
  • String.fromCharCode low PDF_FROMCHARCODE
    String.fromCharCode found — used to construct payload strings dynamically. Common in benign JavaScript libraries for codepoint manipulation, so this alone is informational; weaponised use is also caught by the dedicated fromCharCode-stage and exploit-shape rules. (matched inside decoded stream)
  • syncAnnotScan annotation-staging primitive low PDF_FOXIT_SYNCANNOTSCAN
    PDF JavaScript calls syncAnnotScan() — a no-op annotation-enumeration primitive used by exploit-kit JavaScript to stage payload reads from annotation /Subject fields before eval(). Not a vulnerable sink itself; rarely seen in legitimate PDFs. (matched in decompressed stream)
  • 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 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0005_000.js
4718a27c2224fc36bf24f8e8e04598f1ad78adce4401c7be2708318738a6983d
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 5 at offset 0x148 469 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
legacy_pdfkit_stage_000.js
56379a9c0acba7e4cece0ba77391cd1314a364c8ab1298355efc8c038325addf
deobfuscated-js repeated-marker hex decoded JavaScript at offset 0x1BE7 12478 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 eval/decoder/string-building token(s). Carved artifact contains 1 long base64-like blob(s).
deobfuscated.js
a150e401a58bad30a5de4c52e47aa92a9a90ab01ce1d327eb22fdd2ec471e20c
deobfuscated-js PDF JavaScript deobfuscation pass 83177 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 10 eval/decoder/string-building token(s). Carved artifact contains 2 long base64-like blob(s).