Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 d117172ef56852cc…

MALICIOUS

PDF

16.8 KB
MD5: 2ef43e9bd1e159ec18517d6be53a8771 SHA-1: e4208d824470709a4712bd9c6291f1f123a7332a SHA-256: d117172ef56852cc7359e802785cce4f9f500f53c481a02ee36cc6ef0f7daae5
194 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.001 JavaScript/JScript T1204.001 Malicious Link/Document: User Execution: Malicious Link T1071.001 Web Protocols: Web Protocols

The PDF file contains obfuscated JavaScript, identified as a multi-stage dropper. It leverages the CVE-2007-5659 vulnerability, specifically the 'Collab.collectEmailInfo' sink, to execute the embedded script. This script is designed to download and execute a secondary payload, as indicated by the 'PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER' heuristic. The presence of multiple deobfuscated JavaScript files further supports the multi-stage nature of the attack.

Heuristics 8

  • Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 critical CVE exact CVE_2007_5659
    PDF JavaScript calls Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 is a buffer overflow in Adobe Reader triggered by a long argument or heap-sprayed message field passed to Collab.collectEmailInfo(). Part of a series of Acrobat JS API exploits. (identified after JavaScript deobfuscation)
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901
  • Obfuscated multi-stage PDF JavaScript dropper high PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER
    PDF JavaScript shows 4 independent signals of exploit-kit-style multi-stage obfuscation: annot_subject_stage, hex_codec_loop, incremental_eval_build, repeated_pluginschk. This is strongly consistent with pre-2011 Adobe Reader PDF droppers — OpenAction JS reads encoded data from annotation subjects, decodes it through one or more hex / base-N loops, and invokes eval indirectly (method name built one character at a time). The actual CVE is hidden in the final decoded layer and is not visible via static analysis.
  • 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.
  • 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)
  • syncAnnotScan annotation-staging primitive low PDF_FOXIT_SYNCANNOTSCAN
    PDF JavaScript calls syncAnnotScan() — a no-op annotation-enumeration primitive used by exploit-kit JavaScript to stage payload reads from annotation /Subject fields before eval(). Not a vulnerable sink itself; rarely seen in legitimate PDFs. (matched in decompressed 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.

Extracted artifacts 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0009_000.js
4718a27c2224fc36bf24f8e8e04598f1ad78adce4401c7be2708318738a6983d
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 9 at offset 0x4093 469 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
legacy_pdfkit_stage_000.js
5c6ff6b6c09368396e1ad022c15e738e42ea4ba8696c0b37c031a0b5a089c92c
deobfuscated-js z-percent UTF-16BE base-21 decoded JavaScript at offset 0x198B 5035 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 5 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
deobfuscated.js
eb3c20da2a396e3bf70f66097377c634b96d0af1ef345c5637915c65056e20d5
deobfuscated-js PDF JavaScript deobfuscation pass 117636 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 4 eval/decoder/string-building token(s). Carved artifact contains 2 long base64-like blob(s).