PDF malware analysis — malicious · d2100d466a43f334

MALICIOUS

PDF

281.3 KB Created: 2010-05-27 17:08:58 Authoring application: PScript5.dll Version 5.2 (via GPL Ghostscript 8.15)

MD5: 5eacac599dc2f796cffdd97beb1e93fa SHA-1: d6256ff2b457d82f40f9aaaffa6ec930f8cce7af SHA-256: d2100d466a43f3340d98fa5828184ce3e3022c1551d9bcb987fab75341ac6278

484 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK

T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment

This PDF file exploits CVE-2010-1240 via a launch action that executes cmd.exe. The action is paired with JavaScript that attempts to export a data object, which is detected as an embedded PE payload. The embedded artifact is masquerading as 'clean.pdf' but is identified as a Windows executable by ClamAV, with one signature being Win.Trojan.Rozena-131. The overall intent is to trick the user into opening a malicious executable disguised as a document.

Heuristics 11

Adobe Reader Launch action command execution critical CVE exact CVE_2010_1240

PDF uses the Adobe Reader/Acrobat Launch action pattern associated with CVE-2010-1240: cmd.exe is invoked with attacker-controlled parameters, paired with an embedded/exported payload.
Launch action critical PDF_LAUNCH

PDF contains a /Launch action whose target is an executable, URL, or UNC path — can start an external application
Embedded Windows executable payload in PDF stream critical PDF_EMBEDDED_PE_PAYLOAD

PDF stream bytes contain an embedded Windows executable with a verified PE header. Exploit chains often hide droppers inside ordinary streams rather than standard /EmbeddedFile attachments.
/Launch action target: cmd.exe critical PDF_LAUNCH_COMMAND

PDF /Launch action specifies an executable target with parameters '/Q /C %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\clean.pdf" (cd "Desktop"' — references a known-dangerous executable (cmd, PowerShell, etc.).
Embedded attachment masquerades: declared document, content is windows-executable critical PDF_EMBEDDED_FILESPEC_CONTENT_MISMATCH

An /EmbeddedFile attachment's declared filename extension or /Subtype MIME type contradicts the magic bytes of its decompressed content. The attachment is declared as a benign document or image but the bytes are an executable or executable-bearing archive. This is a deliberate deception used to hide droppers in PDF attachments and is a generic indicator of embed-and-drop weaponisation, independent of any specific CVE.
ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION

ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
ClamAV detection on extracted artifact critical EXTRACTED_FILE_CLAMAV

ClamAV flagged at least one file extracted from inside this sample. Even when the wrapping document carries no AV detection of its own, a hit on the carved artifact is a strong indicator the sample is a delivery vehicle.
/Launch action paired with attachment-dropping JS API high PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JS

PDF combines a /Launch action with a JavaScript API call that writes or opens an attached/external resource — the canonical shape of the CVE-2010-1240 /Launch + exportDataObject family. Benign PDFs do not pair these surfaces; the combination indicates a drop-and-execute chain regardless of the specific JS API knobs or /Launch target.
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.
Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDED

PDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload

Extracted artifacts 9

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

Filename	Kind	Source	Size
`clean.pdf` `54a200cc9cc38b67f15bac4c00b5cb38d23fc7cb189957e6fec5a92e3bd88d39`	pdf-embedded-file	PDF EmbeddedFile object 104 at offset 0x41464	37888 bytes
Detection ClamAV: Win.Trojan.Rozena-131 Obfuscation or payload: unlikely
`javascript_obj0105_000.js` `f2e5fb1e4ad8018d65e923c84a433305f1626ec47a2ed853c3a36312f0cb0939`	pdf-javascript-stream	PDF /JS object 105 at offset 0x460F3	54 bytes
`stream_017_off0003c193.bin` `977c275d7ca3350440c69f38241761b787d73e8a2e99f80eb6cc51e6a5635b9a`	decompressed-pdf-stream	PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x3C193	1201 bytes
`font_00_cff_off0003683e.bin` `9c40ce21f84e6ba5356cf6e65945a09804466d19dd4789ada4f519382d999618`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x3683E	3928 bytes
`font_01_cff_off00037676.bin` `685439b2ffdd0b9efc371bbc6c3190d442f787e7ac2213238aa1cba769fe4a73`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x37676	329 bytes
`font_02_cff_off00037817.bin` `6f9431c2901dddcf2d7f7bc248dc5207f47f4a144d50e4c9623867c9b174882a`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x37817	9500 bytes
`font_03_cff_off000396b3.bin` `ec977c241b825056648add2158f96580faddbc4d82f6db4f8faffc3a8702459b`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x396B3	572 bytes
`font_04_cff_off000398c5.bin` `391d15a647d339e05751619f77b928ee7edee5ef9a7b06b6c2534f5db8166ac8`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x398C5	1165 bytes
`font_06_cff_off0003d901.bin` `cd61f2fe2b5d72c70bb096588fe7212f76cfa52dc4bd9445e8ed34ed0fae054a`	pdf-font-stream	PDF embedded font (cff) at offset 0x3D901	6190 bytes

Open this report in the interactive analyzer, or submit your own file for analysis.