Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 a1c588f5e915bc55…

MALICIOUS

PDF

918.3 KB Created: 2009-10-16 11:36:09 -04:00 Authoring application: PScript5.dll Version 5.2.2 (via Acrobat Distiller 8.1.0 (Windows))
MD5: b8302366cee1bca2a9d7b993767b5e6f SHA-1: 5ba0cff2cb6820467b424187f215fe0991e19897 SHA-256: a1c588f5e915bc559d71cd6c8c197e155ddc4a9b4e227949e70d9a55914072f6
384 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information

The PDF contains JavaScript actions and an embedded PE executable payload, indicating a malicious intent to deliver malware. The document body, though heavily obfuscated, suggests a lure related to payment or refunds, combined with instructions for a password-protected archive. This aligns with social engineering tactics to bypass security controls. The embedded executable was detected by ClamAV as Win.Trojan.Rozena-131. The PDF also includes a launch action targeting cmd.exe, likely to execute the embedded payload.

Heuristics 11

  • 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\\northrup-danny.pdf" (cd "Desktop"' — references a known-dangerous executable (cmd, PowerShell, etc.).
  • 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.
  • Password-protected archive handoff high SE_PASSWORD_ARCHIVE_LURE
    Document gives password instructions for an archive or attachment — often used to keep payloads encrypted until after gateway scanning
  • Callback phishing phone lure medium SE_CALLBACK_LURE
    Document asks the user to call a phone number in billing, refund, subscription, fraud, or security context — consistent with callback phishing or tech-support scam patterns
  • 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
  • Embedded URL info EMBEDDED_URL
    One or more URLs were extracted from the document. The URL itself is not a detection — see the per-URL labels for which channel (macro, JS, link annotation, document body, ...) reached each URL.
    URL http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#
    • http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/
    • http://ns.adobe.com/pdf/1.3/
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/mm/

Extracted artifacts 5

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0327_000.js
1fe29d385baa21658297c2585f69391711c186f1aa03ae3146698df173bffedb		 pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 327 at offset 0xE553B 63 bytes
stream_097_off000d811e.bin
d1398eed6aa514cd8f36bb09b8df35a945f51a59091eefb2f2fed71978a0e678		 decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0xD811E 35288 bytes
stream_100_off000e0906.bin
6c8a6ad540c0139bd8bcffe9b6962164c3e7724bca1bd75425c2f27866accedc		 decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0xE0906 37888 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: Win.Trojan.Rozena-131
Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
icc_00_off00001304.icc
2b3aa1645779a9e634744faf9b01e9102b0c9b88fd6deced7934df86b949af7e		 pdf-icc-profile PDF ICC profile at offset 0x1304 3144 bytes
font_01_sfnt_off000dc988.bin
227dff246be556669a3da5dc8d75b4d989951fb0c8c8e6a11543c5ce52bee1ce		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0xDC988 5884 bytes

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