PDF malware analysis — malicious · b4d951a82803016a

MALICIOUS

PDF

23.3 KB Created: 2010-05-06 11:45:43 Authoring application: Scribus 1.3.3.13svn (via Scribus PDF Library 1.3.3.13svn)

MD5: 872a158ffb51d2999afbf21daaa2d5f0 SHA-1: 221eab2405180fe89585d5f7b86f0742b84f8080 SHA-256: b4d951a82803016a5f622d697b3c7be56061a56b1c9772ebb796c31857442d47

484 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1566.002 Spearphishing Attachment T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that leverages a PDF launch action to execute cmd.exe. The script is designed to download and execute a second-stage payload, as indicated by the critical heuristic PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JS and the embedded PE payload. The embedded artifact 'test.pdf' is detected as a Windows executable by ClamAV, confirming its malicious nature.

Heuristics 11

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 %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\test.pdf" (cd "Desktop"' — 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
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.
/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

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`test.pdf` `4890aeaf3a47acdecdbb63317bcad92af1ee87eeb29215524e05d8c9b6e93b43`	pdf-embedded-file	PDF EmbeddedFile object 15 at offset 0xB01	37888 bytes
Detection ClamAV: Win.Trojan.Swrort-5816 Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
`javascript_obj0016_000.js` `b1a09f919e0f5d1c1d284849c9af93bae6fd1411634dfdc491e126f9cd327f3f`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 16 at offset 0x58B6	53 bytes

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