Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 a35825f566da73e8…

MALICIOUS

PDF

6.8 KB
MD5: f7fab63def4cc2b8f6fac457906ba018 SHA-1: 43031d9961dcc1b49a8e67ba153ac915d5c8dd88 SHA-256: a35825f566da73e86b6f070f9a2841150da4a83e17a82bb2dcc9fada2c9f106d
94 Risk Score

Malware Insights

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

The PDF document contains embedded JavaScript that exploits CVE-2014-0496 using app.addToolButton/removeToolButton. The JavaScript is obfuscated and appears to decode a base26-encoded string which is then likely executed. This indicates the document's primary purpose is to act as a downloader for a second-stage payload. No specific malware family could be identified.

Heuristics 7

  • app.addToolButton/removeToolButton — CVE-2014-0496 critical CVE exact CVE_2014_0496
    PDF JavaScript combines app.addToolButton() and app.removeToolButton() with heap-spray shellcode markers — the public Adobe Reader/Acrobat ToolButton use-after-free exploit shape for CVE-2014-0496. (identified after JavaScript deobfuscation)
  • 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.
  • XFA form low PDF_XFA
    PDF uses XML Forms Architecture — can contain script logic
  • AcroForm button with action trigger low PDF_ACROFORM_BUTTON
    PDF contains a /Btn form field together with a SubmitForm/URI/Launch/JS trigger — this is the building block of fake 'Download' or 'Open' button overlays used in PDF phishing lures
  • 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.
  • 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://ns.adobe.com/xdp/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xci/2.8/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.5/

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0003_000.js
f07120ad266004ea53e92a27b8d0799d194f791527a79a4b0a28e0185d19aedc
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 3 at offset 0x409 15664 bytes
base26_stage_000.js
347b671411c7783a079cb17a00c255811c674a195d98b673028a907dc8d3be68
deobfuscated-js base26-decoded JavaScript (decompressed) at offset 0x60D 5967 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 44 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).