Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 a027781c94e7e8ec…

MALICIOUS

PDF

65.9 KB Created: 2010-04-19 11:21:03 -04:00 Authoring application: Writer (via OpenOffice.org 3.2)
MD5: de5eb3489877264d572ededa32397f6a SHA-1: 8951d585649653f865a9c3a9bf46838e2d1ecb6e SHA-256: a027781c94e7e8ec239615de974cc910144545d1fceb5a23e76b8cb241b94763
514 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer T1566.002 Spearphishing Attachment

This PDF file exploits CVE-2010-1240 to execute cmd.exe, which is then used to download and run an embedded executable payload masquerading as 'FilmReview.pdf'. The embedded executable was detected by ClamAV as 'Win.Trojan.ShellcodeReverseTcp-1'. The PDF itself was also flagged by ClamAV as 'Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586' and a machine learning model.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 1.0000

Heuristics 11

  • 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\\FilmReview.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.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
  • 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

Extracted artifacts 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
FilmReview.pdf
4c3a3d54accc80558da7977e88e0a5add2ff85e5f1e8dd69943ef83a441f3ece		 pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 27 at offset 0xB5D0 37888 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: Win.Trojan.ShellcodeReverseTcp-1
Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
javascript_obj0028_000.js
fc8e7ee98042ceb50301c0b60920dedc9a4e52cd009e9fb9d985df4313ed9165		 pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 28 at offset 0x1037A 59 bytes
font_00_sfnt_off00003cfa.bin
9271764f363a4b8f4a83dc3c1bebc351b0ced246a6561382f7f64c4fa093f8b4		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x3CFA 44640 bytes

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