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

Static analysis result for SHA-256 cf8eb0f7a7379822…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

109.5 KB Created: 2006-09-16 00:00:00 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 14.0300
MD5: e5c9855a8b52d7cfeff200fd2b7f8c0a SHA-1: af1eca8903204b8f1ddc362e3cf6dcdff42748e5 SHA-256: cf8eb0f7a7379822d4d53c9d7ad594b9d99be8cc4cd0257bd267aa6cd780a9bc
208 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, including an Auto_Open macro, which is a strong indicator of malicious intent. The macros utilize dangerous functions like CALL and EXEC, which are capable of downloading and executing arbitrary code. The document body suggests a lure, possibly a fake CAPTCHA, to trick the user into interacting with the malicious content. The embedded URLs are likely sources for the secondary payload.

Heuristics 6

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (2 sheet(s)) critical 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.
  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OOXML_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    Workbook defines _xlnm.Auto_Open or _xlnm.Auto_Close while containing an XLM macro sheet. This is the OOXML/XLSB auto-execution shape for Excel 4.0 macros.
  • Dangerous XLM formula APIs: EXEC, HALT, FORMULA, WORKBOOK.HIDE, CALL critical OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet uses formula APIs that call directly into Win32 (=CALL/=EXEC/=REGISTER/=FORMULA). These are the primitives used to download payloads, write files, and start processes from an XLM macro without invoking VBA.
  • Suspicious extracted artifact medium 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.
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 1 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 https://shapoorjipallonji.online/drms/ind.html
    • https://studio.joellemagazine.com/drms/ind.html
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/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

Extracted artifacts 2

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
477aeccaaa162efd32bb8acf28c472f6c70359e46f59213b79e20f048af0f34f
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet2.xml 3528 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
9f930289e13f67da399b0aeb5dc75db9b6d9febed2d1afb324c89cca03dce6a5
xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 205645 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 2 shell/COM execution token(s).