Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 c9c243fa797cbdac…

MALICIOUS

PDF

15.4 KB
MD5: eb1af699eac6a1ff8f248b441c982d37 SHA-1: 7ed8a69442f0a7950665a6170a3a5c55eeab5eb2 SHA-256: c9c243fa797cbdac65bf16eb26d9bbbf9d8be98e37dac125921d395f469bf3f5
206 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File T1071.001 Web Protocols T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

The PDF sample contains embedded JavaScript that utilizes `eval()` and `unescape()` functions, indicating obfuscation and likely malicious intent. The presence of CCITTFaxDecode with exploit preparation indicators and ML classification further supports a malicious verdict. The embedded JavaScript is designed to download and execute a second-stage payload, as suggested by the `ML_NYX_PDF_MALICIOUS` heuristic and the nature of the JavaScript functions used. The extracted URLs are related to XFA, a common vector for PDF exploits.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 0.9997

Heuristics 10

  • CCITTFaxDecode + TIFF/XFA exploit prep — LibTIFF CVE-family indicator high CVE related PDF_CCITT_CVE_2010_0188_RELATED
    PDF uses /CCITTFaxDecode together with TIFF/XFA exploit-preparation markers such as rawValue image-field assignment, TIFF data, or heap-spray JavaScript. This matches the delivery pattern for Adobe Reader LibTIFF/CCITTFax parser exploit families, including CVE-2010-0188, but does not prove the exact malformed TIFF primitive.
  • eval() call high PDF_EVAL
    eval() found — commonly used for obfuscated exploit execution (matched inside decoded stream)
  • unescape() call high PDF_UNESCAPE
    unescape() found — often used to decode shellcode in PDF JS exploits (matched inside decoded stream)
  • ASCIIHexDecode filter (with exploit indicators) medium PDF_FILTER_HEX
    Hex-encoding filter present alongside exploit delivery indicators — often used to hide payload or shellcode bytes
  • 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.
  • XFA form low PDF_XFA
    PDF uses XML Forms Architecture — can contain script logic
  • String.fromCharCode low PDF_FROMCHARCODE
    String.fromCharCode found — used to construct payload strings dynamically. Common in benign JavaScript libraries for codepoint manipulation, so this alone is informational; weaponised use is also caught by the dedicated fromCharCode-stage and exploit-shape rules. (matched inside decoded stream)
  • 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://ns.adobe.com/xdp/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xci/2.6/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.6/

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0012_000.js
09de78b7de291aa3ddc78e96475725267630bf326894c1fb6b9aff709f8aec31		 pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 12 at offset 0x1BF2 363 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 2 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).

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