Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 d44816a503bd3884…

MALICIOUS

PDF

4.71 MB Created: 2010-01-21 11:59:45 -05:00 Authoring application: Adobe LiveCycle Forms 8.2
MD5: 39816da3210d08e32d6753b5e33d512e SHA-1: 48d34b3001f57fb0f703a003e51c4893a8c20516 SHA-256: d44816a503bd3884c113705405e1d685fb01e80de14052aaef03793e55099a03
272 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.007 Service Execution: JavaScript T1204.002 Malicious File Execution: Malicious JavaScript

This PDF document contains multiple JavaScript streams and XFA form elements, indicating it is designed to execute malicious code. The critical PDF_XFA_HEAP_SPRAY and PDF_XFA_SCRIPT heuristics confirm the presence of exploit code and risky scripts within the XFA form. The embedded file and numerous streams suggest a complex, multi-stage attack. The ML classifier also strongly flags this PDF as malicious. The primary suspicious URL identified is http://localhost:7001/apply/ProcessForm, likely used to fetch the secondary payload.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 0.9123

Heuristics 12

  • XFA form contains risky executable script high CVE related PDF_XFA_SCRIPT
    PDF embeds an XFA form whose script block contains exploit, submission/launch, or shell-execution primitives. Ordinary LiveCycle print/update scripts are left as generic XFA/JS signals unless stronger behavior is present.
  • Embedded PDF child has suspicious static findings critical PDF_EMBEDDED_CHILD_STATIC_TRIAGE
    PDF contains an embedded PDF stream whose extracted child matches suspicious or malicious PDF heuristics. Wrapper PDFs are commonly used to hide the actual exploit or lure payload from scanners that do not recursively inspect attachments.
  • XFA JavaScript heap-spray exploit code critical PDF_XFA_HEAP_SPRAY
    PDF contains XFA script content with heap-spray or shellcode-like JavaScript markers such as large encoded word sequences, util.pack, large arrays, or spray variable names. This is a weaponised Adobe Reader exploit pattern, not a normal interactive form.
  • Unusually high stream count medium PDF_MANY_STREAMS
    PDF contains 501+ stream objects — may indicate heap spray or heavy obfuscation
  • Embedded script payload in PDF stream medium PDF_EMBEDDED_SCRIPT_PAYLOAD
    PDF stream bytes contain an HTML/XFA <script> tag without accompanying Windows shell-execution primitives — common in accessible XFA forms but worth surfacing for analyst review.
  • 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
  • XFA form low PDF_XFA
    PDF uses XML Forms Architecture — can contain script logic
  • AcroForm button with action trigger low PDF_ACROFORM_BUTTON
    PDF contains a /Btn form field together with a SubmitForm/URI/Launch/JS trigger — this is the building block of fake 'Download' or 'Open' button overlays used in PDF phishing lures
  • Object number defined twice with different bodies info PDF_DUPLICATE_OBJ_BODY_INCREMENTAL
    The same indirect object (N G) is defined more than once with different body bytes. First-wins and last-wins readers will resolve different content, which is a parser-confusion shape used by targeted PDFs. Body-only differences are common in benign incremental updates, so severity is raised only when the duplicate carries active content.
  • 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://localhost:7001/apply/ProcessForm
    • http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm
    • http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/
    • http://ns.adobe.com/pdf/1.3/
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xap/1.0/mm/
    • http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/
    • http://ns.adobe.com/xdp/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xci/1.0/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xci/2.6/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.1/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.6/
    • http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-data/1.0/
    • http://www.grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp#adobe811
    • http://grants.gov/help/general_faqs.jsp#adobe
    • http://stemcells.nih.gov/research/registry/
    • http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-017.html
    • http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a021/a21_2004.html#exc
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-template/2.2/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-connection-set/2.4/
    • http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-connection-set/2.1/
    • http://ns.adobe.com/data-description/
    • http://apply.grants.gov/system/MetaGrantApplicationWrapper
    • http://apply.grants.gov/system/MetaGrantApplication
    • http://apply.grants.gov/system/Header-V1.0
    • http://apply.grants.gov/system/Global-V1.0
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RRSF424_SF424B-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/SF424C-V1.0
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_Budget-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/system/GlobalLibrary-V2.0
    • http://apply.grants.gov/system/Attachments-V1.0
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_SubawardBudget-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_SubawardBudget30-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_FedNonFedBudget-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_FedNonFed_SubawardBudget-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_FedNonFed_SubawardBudget30-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_Budget10-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_SubawardBudget10_10-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_SubawardBudget10_30-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_FedNonFedBudget10-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_FedNonFed_SubawardBudget10_10-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_FedNonFed_SubawardBudget10_30-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_PerformanceSite-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/PerformanceSite_1_2-V1.2
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/PerformanceSite_1_3-V1.3
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/PerformanceSite_1_4-V1.4
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_KeyPerson-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_KeyPersonExpanded-V1.1
    • http://apply.grants.gov/forms/RR_KeyPersonExpanded_1_2-V1.2
    +62 more URL(s)

Extracted artifacts 8

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj1295_000.js
4a1aca004cf20431c9a66dce85404a6411a54d881a6c257882260ffc972a13eb
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 1295 at offset 0x3EA0C 870 bytes
javascript_obj1297_001.js
922f7942d25f53e6e6eedc1b3a95c47a757faab3be4838fa02db0dbea2c4dbcc
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 1297 at offset 0x3EB96 2798 bytes
javascript_obj1299_002.js
04ceb4c2218e7db19a6e007ca4ce846f92c17fff5eaf3a611e71bbd7a5726917
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 1299 at offset 0x3EE8F 1535 bytes
embedded_file_obj0049.bin
89809666d37e31c6b507bbc8fbf6a120ec1fce378c260d1266b3c31600ac5ee9
pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 49 at offset 0x482451 401614 bytes
javascript_obj0021_000.js
f94e41f586bf3f20bc1deeac4bfbda388a61db43f25fbd6304ba73f5653368cf
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 21 at offset 0x191D 1313 bytes
javascript_obj0022_001.js
1b2ec98752b966f601d5223a750559cf13d562ac5e5c6d1fcc7217835b01f5fd
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 22 at offset 0x1AFA 902 bytes
javascript_obj0023_002.js
826c5622c798d67e5281cca7e05933dddc90ccdcb0a6177c9f7d06f11bef8f7f
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 23 at offset 0x1C53 2795 bytes
embedded_pdf_script_00003ab9.bin
100feabaa79cba7cf3e856314f371ae53e1d7921b36bed211093f90e8b3460d4
pdf-embedded-script PDF raw stream script payload at offset 0x3AB9 7720 bytes