Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 b59e904b9f04d7a0…

MALICIOUS

PDF

65.9 KB Created: 2010-04-19 11:21:03 -04:00 Authoring application: Writer (via OpenOffice.org 3.2)
MD5: eb67ef378d7cd51cb233ebeab174540f SHA-1: 2f006be29f856babcd8e4fe18bae7b3af41456fd SHA-256: b59e904b9f04d7a01ce32e41b14faf4004cbb2803e5bc5a3257894dbd5eff891
514 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.001 PowerShell T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment T1059.003 Windows Command Shell

The PDF file contains embedded JavaScript and an embedded PE payload, which is detected as Win.Trojan.ShellcodeReverseTcp-1 by ClamAV. The critical heuristic CVE_2010_1240 indicates that the PDF uses a launch action to execute cmd.exe with parameters that suggest it is designed to drop and execute the embedded payload, masquerading as 'FilmReview.pdf'. The ML classifier strongly flags this as malicious.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 1.0000

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\\FilmReview.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 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
FilmReview.pdf
4c3a3d54accc80558da7977e88e0a5add2ff85e5f1e8dd69943ef83a441f3ece		 pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 27 at offset 0xB5D0 37888 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: Win.Trojan.ShellcodeReverseTcp-1
Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
javascript_obj0028_000.js
fc8e7ee98042ceb50301c0b60920dedc9a4e52cd009e9fb9d985df4313ed9165		 pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 28 at offset 0x1037A 59 bytes
font_00_sfnt_off00003cfa.bin
9271764f363a4b8f4a83dc3c1bebc351b0ced246a6561382f7f64c4fa093f8b4		 pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (sfnt) at offset 0x3CFA 44640 bytes

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