Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 9906f8151b8fd37c…

MALICIOUS

PDF

453.6 KB Created: 2010-04-04 20:36:21 +08:00 Authoring application: PDFlib 7.0.3 (C++/Win32)
MD5: 88ae97c88928a50d26dd08477de3a5f6 SHA-1: b72d1cef87da4460050e409f7d0e6d129c34ea28 SHA-256: 9906f8151b8fd37c99cc2a10d34a07a08342b7d755987333c3aa8f662eb0c1c3
424 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204 Malicious File T1204.002 Malicious File: User Execution: Malicious Attachment T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter T1059.003 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Windows Command Shell T1566 Phishing T1566.001 Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that triggers a launch action, exploiting CVE-2010-1240 to execute cmd.exe. This action is designed to drop and execute an embedded Windows executable payload, masquerading as 'AcoRd32.pdf'. The ClamAV detection further confirms its malicious nature as Pdf.Exploit.Agent-21086.

Heuristics 10

  • 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\\AcoRd32.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-21086 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-21086
  • /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

Extracted artifacts 8

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
AcoRd32.pdf
24080c76c41a3c7c14f6a494e40119d0af1407d98f4e4315efa6aa8035cdae36		 pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 176 at offset 0x6901B 94208 bytes
javascript_obj0177_000.js
fd38020606c1072c989d72a539151e707731bad90f3929f22a620a711613f90d		 pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 177 at offset 0x71208 56 bytes
font_00_sfnt_off0003863c.bin
9e7a2e40b24cfb70eaa2f5cf564e51650bff426954d58d87288a87d2d92d18ee		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x3863C 291628 bytes
font_01_sfnt_off0004868e.bin
2a63b52e181735f7b5ca71e136dbead58a982ceb9521dec115ea53793af27bf1		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x4868E 51076 bytes
font_02_sfnt_off0004e5e7.bin
7e79a4ac991eda8850499e747446943eee6046b1799520a57d0a79054ece4234		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x4E5E7 227992 bytes
font_03_sfnt_off00054df7.bin
fa3effdfa442c49a4f93955402693f78bcc25b475731aed067b87026bd144d20		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x54DF7 283632 bytes
font_04_sfnt_off0005d592.bin
a12be1f894a8691aa321b374f9d57928ece48367d83c37854cfca7c33c497e30		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x5D592 237052 bytes
font_05_sfnt_off0006535c.bin
ff0c6586c4a3806d0d72e5f98f9f5341543e4530f993d90709c9e26b35a4350a		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x6535C 27144 bytes

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