Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 d98cf8b93d43e29a…

MALICIOUS

PDF

7.9 KB
MD5: bad7a8baadef1c34f3837095185f0460 SHA-1: 93bdbe4a5165159d896551a6f13ad381dc004eaa SHA-256: d98cf8b93d43e29ac017871e74a034fa4a925aae65b7a64df4ac88454e7293be
134 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious File

The PDF contains obfuscated JavaScript, identified as a dropper, which leverages the CVE-2007-5659 vulnerability. This vulnerability is exploited through the `Collab.collectEmailInfo` method to execute the embedded JavaScript. The script is designed to download and execute a second-stage payload, indicated by the 'Obfuscated multi-stage PDF JavaScript dropper' heuristic. The presence of multiple deobfuscated JavaScript files further supports this multi-stage delivery mechanism.

Heuristics 7

  • Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 critical CVE exact CVE_2007_5659
    PDF JavaScript calls Collab.collectEmailInfo — CVE-2007-5659 is a buffer overflow in Adobe Reader triggered by a long argument or heap-sprayed message field passed to Collab.collectEmailInfo(). Part of a series of Acrobat JS API exploits. (identified after JavaScript deobfuscation)
  • Obfuscated multi-stage PDF JavaScript dropper high PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER
    PDF JavaScript shows 3 independent signals of exploit-kit-style multi-stage obfuscation: annot_subject_stage, hex_dashed_payload, repeated_pluginschk. This is strongly consistent with pre-2011 Adobe Reader PDF droppers — OpenAction JS reads encoded data from annotation subjects, decodes it through one or more hex / base-N loops, and invokes eval indirectly (method name built one character at a time). The actual CVE is hidden in the final decoded layer and is not visible via static analysis.
  • 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.
  • String.fromCharCode low PDF_FROMCHARCODE
    String.fromCharCode found — used to construct payload strings dynamically. Common in benign JavaScript libraries for codepoint manipulation, so this alone is informational; weaponised use is also caught by the dedicated fromCharCode-stage and exploit-shape rules. (matched inside decoded stream)
  • syncAnnotScan annotation-staging primitive low PDF_FOXIT_SYNCANNOTSCAN
    PDF JavaScript calls syncAnnotScan() — a no-op annotation-enumeration primitive used by exploit-kit JavaScript to stage payload reads from annotation /Subject fields before eval(). Not a vulnerable sink itself; rarely seen in legitimate PDFs. (matched in decompressed stream)
  • Suspicious extracted artifact info 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.

Extracted artifacts 4

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
javascript_obj0005_000.js
9d5c7e01faed5b04e9ec11f1d98b73f0012c871beaf60e9f9d32ad6df00d46f7
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 5 at offset 0x148 550 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
legacy_pdfkit_stage_000.js
286cb5d2d74caec457753d837ab115c8e6b381860cb8692555a517a411ded8d0
deobfuscated-js repeated-marker hex decoded JavaScript at offset 0x1A47 1787 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
legacy_pdfkit_stage_001.js
4491cb533d2661845aab36502ed3af3ffbc5ef5e710fac053990fbf83f97cd98
deobfuscated-js annotation-subject callee-key decoded JavaScript at offset 0x359 4899 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 5 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
deobfuscated.js
d4647d0a192a50cee6078883aa34c3510e2b9f46359178dc6f946128103de38e
deobfuscated-js PDF JavaScript deobfuscation pass 23089 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 2 eval/decoder/string-building token(s). Carved artifact contains 1 long base64-like blob(s).