Malicious Office (OLE) / .XLSX — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 da53e29aad23a862…

MALICIOUS

Office (OLE) / .XLSX

1.21 MB
MD5: e38202cb41e042c1a2bf212b1fd9d643 SHA-1: 249a5d2ba8bdedf2b8cc4dbac9a70faabbc4d829 SHA-256: da53e29aad23a862a7346b693267cea7fec6a28388703f7bd635643faca1ff5d
200 Risk Score

Malware Insights

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

The sample is an encrypted OOXML file using a default password, which is a common technique to bypass static analysis. It contains Equation Editor OLE objects with anomalous Ole10Native streams, indicating the use of a known vulnerability (likely CVE-2017-11882) to execute code. ClamAV detection as a downloader further supports the conclusion that this is an exploit-based delivery mechanism.

Heuristics 5

  • Equation Editor OLE object high CVE related OLE_EQUATION_EDITOR
    Default-encrypted OOXML embedded OLE object xl/embeddings/oleObject1.bin contains the Equation Editor CLSID, the legacy component exploited by CVE-2017-11882, CVE-2018-0802, and CVE-2018-0798.
  • ClamAV: Xls.Downloader.af2fa5c5d0587870-9978799-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.af2fa5c5d0587870-9978799-0
  • Default-encrypted OOXML exploit carrier layout high OOXML_ENCRYPTED_EXPLOIT_CARRIER_SHAPE
    Default-password encrypted OOXML package contains embedded OLE object parts and additional activation/decoy parts. This layout is common in malicious Excel exploit delivery and requires inspecting the decrypted package.
  • Equation Editor object carries payload-like Ole10Native stream high OLE_EQUATION_OLE10NATIVE_PAYLOAD_ANOMALY
    Default-encrypted OOXML embedded OLE object declares the Equation Editor CLSID but stores a large high-entropy Ole10Native stream with malformed package sizing. This is exploit-shaped Equation/OLE payload evidence.
  • Office OOXML encrypted with default VelvetSweatshop password medium OFFICE_DEFAULT_PASSWORD_ENCRYPTED_OOXML
    OLE EncryptedPackage decrypts with Excel's built-in VelvetSweatshop password. Office opens this transparently, and malware uses it to hide OOXML exploit parts from scanners that only inspect the outer OLE container.