Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 d30380118b056692…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

74.1 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-14
MD5: e1268fc98be687a00a9fcd3502c96230 SHA-1: e5763be5ed20f93b617713c82ac9e3b3d57d53bd SHA-256: d30380118b056692aef2c28de9258655b654b323e76ddffb53e5acacaf47e11c
250 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 PowerShell T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros that utilize dangerous functions like FORMULA to download and execute payloads. The macros reconstruct multiple URLs, including 'https://thesparklezbox.com/wp-admin/kFkWN/', which are likely used to fetch a second-stage payload. The ClamAV detection as 'Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9941786-0' strongly suggests an Emotet family infection. The use of regsvr32.exe with rds.ocx is also indicative of malicious activity.

Heuristics 6

  • 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.Emotet03220-9941786-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9941786-0
  • 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://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
d89b7d38fd8a9e6e956d206d38aaf287302fa490f0a6258530e7eb1289212864		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3854 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
66bfcd6f779a43381c9703ce8fb35f6a1e698ff56c3952fb486a051b7507578c		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1275 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
c4c4b38e98fc03e63dbcaf635f5d396461ebdc6c1bd91f6bea98202893777435		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1213 bytes

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