Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 d1468757aa126927…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

29.2 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-07
MD5: a6589ef856c6bdcffcb0d7130d6bcfe2 SHA-1: 526a13c735473825f91739aca5cf30c5ce455d84 SHA-256: d1468757aa12692737697a5aac9ddfd44c9aa6f9c6eecc39c8ac2ef6bfe11b81
290 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1218.010 System Binary Proxy Execution: Regsvr32 T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, specifically using the FORMULA API to download and execute a payload. The heuristics indicate the use of dangerous XLM functions and the LOLBin 'regsvr32.exe' for command execution. The embedded URLs are likely sources for the second-stage payload. The ClamAV signature also points to Emotet.

Heuristics 7

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (3 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: FORMULA 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.
  • ClamAV: Xls.Downloader.Emotet04221-9946519-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet04221-9946519-0
  • LOLBin token sequence in document text high SE_LOLBIN_RUN_COMMAND
    Extracted document text contains a Windows script/execution tool name (PowerShell, mshta, cmd, rundll32, regsvr32, …) within 220 characters of a dangerous flag, command verb, or URL. This is a visible 'run this' instruction in HTML/PDF/RTF lure bodies, or — in macro-laden Office files — the macro's own string-pool entries appearing adjacent in extracted text.
  • 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://janshabd.com/E33ZFv/
    • http://vulkanvegasbonus.jeunete.com/wp-content/hAAFJQA1Bm/
    • http://actividades.laforetlanguages.com/wp-admin/uKLMwQwwo0W/
    • http://amorespasalon.com/wp-admin/ZsK0FbGGLqNpmzL/
    • http://www.aacitygroup.com/mordacity/g29PQhuYA5x/
    • https://sse-studio.com/cq0xhpj/wdktmllfAYV/
    • 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
    • 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.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision6

Extracted artifacts 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
88e2e99a112b17949645743992d0f3d5acd65f3263fea897b9fa54aaacc56a47		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3898 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
dc3a7a0bfb5bb2ea35d9b703637ee211c3058f29823da2f01e18999088122fdb		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1277 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
fb0b18a89624d3a003d5c0229c68ad4b445ff374042612929c2954670700bd57		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1152 bytes

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