Malicious Office (OOXML) / .XLSX — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 bae8e425e6686bd4…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSX

98.2 KB Created: 2020-06-23 11:38:23 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300
MD5: 817781ca195826fd50229f8394a85d89 SHA-1: 269a58f417bc961a170ac0c04d70b335c2e6a4d7 SHA-256: bae8e425e6686bd46cd786e232213f772ce48320989ae4d47329c80169648267
68 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1566.002 Spearphishing Attachment T1204.002 User Execution: Malicious File T1059.005 PowerShell

The sample is an Excel file containing hidden worksheets and Excel 4.0 (XLM) macros, which is a strong indicator of malicious intent. The 'SE_ENABLE_LURE' heuristic confirms that the document instructs the user to enable macros, a common tactic to bypass security. The presence of XLM macros, especially in conjunction with hidden sheets, suggests an attempt to conceal malicious code execution. No specific family could be identified, and no external URLs or executable payloads were directly extracted from the provided evidence.

Heuristics 4

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (1 sheet(s)) high OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET
    Spreadsheet contains an Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet — XLM was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022 and evaded many VBA-focused controls before Microsoft tightened XLM defaults. Even legitimate XLM use is rare in modern workbooks.
  • Macro/content-enable lure medium SE_ENABLE_LURE
    Document instructs the user to enable macros or editing — a common technique used by malware droppers to bypass Office macro security settings
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 5 hidden sheet(s) — hidden sheets are commonly used to conceal macro code, staging data, or intermediate payload construction
  • 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://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2009/9/ac
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2014/revision
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2015/revision2
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision3
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
6f4aed1ae96430b09ce4437ce30fffe68b891f4c121f1aa8abf5bd208f469115		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 166393 bytes

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