Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 a3fbcd12d0a47e22…

MALICIOUS

PDF

140.7 KB Created: 2009-11-18 15:12:31 Authoring application: Microsoft® Office Word 2007 First seen: 2026-05-11
MD5: 97ef6b9543038e92ca2a1f6e854c6e61 SHA-1: 5a0dad992d7a8632ed194b3b41359109c79db25f SHA-256: a3fbcd12d0a47e2205e6f76779cc243018951d83f8afc74ad11e857e51a6b9f3
736 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution T1059.007 JavaScript T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that utilizes the exportDataObject function to launch an embedded executable payload. This payload is also directly linked via a clickable URI and is intended to be executed via cmd.exe. The document body explicitly states that the PDF contains exploit code to download the executable from the provided URL.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 1.0000

Heuristics 18

  • 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.
  • TrueType bitmap font + active content — CVE-2023-26369 related high CVE related PDF_CVE_2023_26369_RELATED
    PDF embeds a TrueType font with bitmap tables (EBDT/sbix/CBDT) alongside exploit delivery indicators — CVE-2023-26369 exploits the sfac_GetSbitBitmap function in Adobe's libCoolType for arbitrary code execution. This CVE was actively exploited in the wild, but this rule does not validate the malformed EBLC/EBDT primitive.
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
  • 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 (if exist "%HOMEPATH%\\My Documents\\C:\Documents and Settings\aa\My Documents\Steria\Sikkerhet\demo\Strategidokument.pdf" (cd "%HOMEPATH%\\My Documents"' — 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.
  • PDF link points directly to executable/archive payload critical PDF_DIRECT_PAYLOAD_LINK
    PDF contains a clickable HTTP(S) URI whose path ends in an executable, script, shortcut, disk image, or archive extension. Documents can legitimately link to installers, so this is a high-risk delivery indicator rather than a standalone exploit fingerprint.
  • JavaScript action low 2 related findings PDF_JAVASCRIPT
    PDF contains a /JavaScript action. Generic JavaScript is common in benign forms; specific dangerous APIs are scored by separate rules.
  • PDF JavaScript exploit cluster critical PDF_JS_EXPLOIT_CLUSTER
    PDF combines an executable JavaScript/action surface with exploit staging indicators such as eval/unescape/fromCharCode, XFA script content, or a related CVE pattern. Benign form JavaScript remains low-severity, but this correlated cluster is high-confidence malicious behavior.
  • 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.
  • /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.
  • Clickable PDF combines external action with parser-evasion structure high PDF_ACTION_PARSER_EVASION
    PDF has an external clickable URI together with object graph or xref structures that make parsers disagree, such as divergent duplicate objects, parser divergence, or xref offset mismatch. That combination is stronger than a plain link: the document is both an outward-action carrier and a parser-confusion/evasion sample.
  • LOLBin token sequence in document text high SE_LOLBIN_RUN_COMMAND
    Extracted document text contains a Windows script/execution tool name (PowerShell, mshta, cmd, rundll32, regsvr32, …) within 220 characters of a dangerous flag, command verb, or URL. This is a visible 'run this' instruction in HTML/PDF/RTF lure bodies, or — in macro-laden Office files — the macro's own string-pool entries appearing adjacent in extracted text.
  • Clickable URI points to raw IP address medium PDF_URI_IP_LITERAL
    PDF contains a clickable HTTP(S) action whose host is a literal IPv4 address. Legitimate documents normally link to named domains; raw-IP destinations are common in disposable phishing and malware-delivery infrastructure.
  • Suspicious extracted artifact medium 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 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://62.101.232.204/download/youhavebeenhacked.exe PDF link annotation
    • http://62.101.232.203/youhavebeenhacked.exe��In extracted file (CDocuments_and_SettingsaaMy_DocumentsSteriaSikkerhetdemoStrategidokument.pdf)
    • http://ocsp.verisign.com0In extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)
    • http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ctfontshttp://fontfabrik.comYouIn extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)
    • http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/default.aspxIn extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)
    • http://crl.verisign.com/ThawteTimestampingCA.crl0In extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)
    • http://crl.verisign.com/tss-ca.crl0In extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)
    • http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/crl/products/CodeSignPCA2.crl0OIn extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)
    • http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/CodeSignPCA2.crt0In extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)
    • http://www.microsoft.com/typographyIn extracted file (stream_002_off00000dbf.bin)

Extracted artifacts 4

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
CDocuments_and_SettingsaaMy_DocumentsSteriaSikkerhetdemoStrategidokument.pdf pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 39 at offset 0x1C3E7 87552 bytes
SHA-256: f6de1ee17e94eddfcc5d8f8d2739bb0928f8c68cb53900c3e4accb81d41a9881
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
actual_type=PE; declared_or_context_type=PDF; filename=CDocuments_and_SettingsaaMy_DocumentsSteriaSikkerhetdemoStrategidokument.pdf; kind=pdf-embedded-file Static shellcode analysis found candidate code region(s). Indicators: SC_MSF_BIND, SC_STR_GETPROCADDRESS, SC_STR_LOADLIBRARY Static shellcode analysis recovered API/import strings: GetProcAddress, ExitProcess, LoadLibraryA, VirtualAlloc
javascript_obj0040_000.js pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 40 at offset 0x22B0F 122 bytes
SHA-256: a2eecdb27cf952d282fc5c216889608336c1764982cf2b01675a4dcfa7146448
Preview script
First 1,000 lines of the extracted script
this.exportDataObject({ cName: "C:Documents and SettingsaaMy DocumentsSteriaSikkerhetdemoStrategidokument", nLaunch: 0 });
stream_002_off00000dbf.bin decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0xDBF 126700 bytes
SHA-256: 2b1d0f71bedc315aa55af915886851ddef708395efd535fc44928c8d768a9485
font_01_sfnt_off00011827.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x11827 82692 bytes
SHA-256: b2615fb0059a124440dc9d60d0adb08a5f149dbcbe3527241c5b6a3fa1e97fb3