Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 a9abc8d18011f76f…

MALICIOUS

PDF

2.9 KB Created: 2005-09-29 09:27:34 UTC Authoring application: Acrobat Distiller 8.2.0 (Windows)
MD5: 44c235cb9a6791f0308bb3ac6a4d9c2e SHA-1: c79017883fcf8b022a87566a6607f5aa9252ea1f SHA-256: a9abc8d18011f76f9d19f36a04726884a66bb23ba584b0bbca479052e224ab1b
162 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204 Malicious Link T1204.001 Malicious Link: Malicious Link T1204.002 Malicious Link: Clickjacking T1566 Phishing T1566.001 Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment T1566.002 Phishing: Spearphishing Link

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript and an XFA form, which are commonly used to deliver exploits. Specifically, the 'CVE_2010_0188' heuristic indicates exploitation of a LibTIFF vulnerability within Adobe Reader's XFA processing. This suggests the file is designed to download and execute a second-stage payload upon opening in a vulnerable reader. The embedded file artifact further supports the delivery of malicious content.

Heuristics 8

  • Adobe Reader LibTIFF XFA image exploit — CVE-2010-0188 critical CVE likely CVE_2010_0188
    PDF contains XFA image data with an inline crafted TIFF payload and shellcode/delivery markers. This is the data-bound variant of the CVE-2010-0188 Adobe Reader LibTIFF/XFA exploit shape.
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-36015 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-36015
  • 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
  • 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.

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
embedded_file_obj0004.bin
8cd780e1f7933c169967ae51eb4543dd7b2859ebd8755fa3e9cd7e76f441ab8d
pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 4 at offset 0x1D5 12826 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 long base64-like blob(s).