PDF malware analysis — malicious · a6c2fe149bf81785

MALICIOUS

PDF

4.02 MB Created: 2009-07-10 10:38:59 Authoring application: FreePDF XP 3.20 - http://shbox.de (via AFPL Ghostscript 8.54)

MD5: eb80432c024fe7d13e47c85671b55ffe SHA-1: 2dd6979e3c137197c2346fe7ae81f0ffccf72318 SHA-256: a6c2fe149bf817851da5d29765ebfb3805a43b7f4ee230c5b3e234e84ac9ac3b

456 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that triggers a launch action, exploiting CVE-2010-1240 to execute cmd.exe. This command is used to launch an embedded Windows executable disguised as 'mallorca.pdf'. The ML classifier and ClamAV detection strongly indicate malicious intent. The embedded executable is likely a second-stage payload.

Machine Learning

Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 0.9954

Heuristics 12

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 (if exist "%HOMEPATH%\\My Documents\\mallorca.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.
ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION

ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
/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
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://shbox.de

Extracted artifacts 8

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`mallorca.pdf` `22b1b6e48982446a3f9150e0d6c6e64899b5829b00ec17679c8cadabb3a5e09f`	pdf-embedded-file	PDF EmbeddedFile object 37 at offset 0x7C9C	4194304 bytes
Detection ClamAV: No threats found Obfuscation or payload: likely Carved artifact entropy is 7.95, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
`javascript_obj0038_000.js` `9cf32400e5e2a501593d2a02cd5ca2b87ba99bbbdef763f91cdaefeaa011b0f7`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 38 at offset 0x403EF0	57 bytes
`font_00_cff_off00002d62.bin` `a6127ed37281307a629350d568ee36b065deccdb00bb2f0ad808dfab0a69f8e6`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x2D62	3387 bytes
`font_01_cff_off000039c3.bin` `26243245b932d372774a80473cadd215a4f059f03780dc4247a2457250a3462c`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x39C3	1523 bytes
`font_02_cff_off000041de.bin` `2d3ab187791cc8fc58564627c62ca4e0edfa4831651f891d9472dea5ce8fdbc2`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x41DE	5457 bytes
`font_03_cff_off0000549e.bin` `4c705b09605d83aa3f18cf2422d7a542ec9ef41b19b385b92b40789f1d163f6e`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x549E	1049 bytes
`font_04_sfnt_off00005990.bin` `112e3c515ebd8a841a5e020de3975f04e4146b443df45a761017ddfffeaa99a4`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x5990	5656 bytes
`font_05_cff_off000065b1.bin` `9c8a34a2757770ad5f28ac764342c12835afa13f0c08ad97029cffcd2162920a`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x65B1	4874 bytes

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