Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 e180474f5c4a3453…

MALICIOUS

PDF

17.5 KB
MD5: f4b58638dc408f28ab445ae0c8ef939b SHA-1: e11a6a4c489fef29ad72fffe67ba4ab44c9b1d01 SHA-256: e180474f5c4a3453d30320f8719ccc1d5ff7bc5f1810e937b1afdb5324a1094e
234 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.001 PowerShell T1204.002 Malicious Link T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information

The PDF document contains obfuscated JavaScript, identified by heuristics such as 'PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER' and 'CVE_2007_5659'. The script leverages the 'Collab.collectEmailInfo' method to decode and execute a multi-stage payload. This dropper functionality is designed to download and execute further malicious content, although the specific URLs or final payloads were not recovered in this analysis. The presence of multiple JavaScript streams and obfuscation techniques indicates a deliberate effort to conceal the malicious activity.

Heuristics 9

  • 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)
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Exploit.Agent-35901
  • Annotation subject callee-key hex JavaScript stager high PDF_ANNOT_SUBJECT_CALLEE_HEX_STAGER
    PDF JavaScript uses syncAnnotScan()/getAnnots() to read an indirect annotation /Subject stream, percent-decodes it through marker replacement, then uses a callee.toString()-derived key to decode and eval the final exploit stage.
  • Obfuscated multi-stage PDF JavaScript dropper high PDF_JS_OBFUSCATED_DROPPER
    PDF JavaScript shows 4 independent signals of exploit-kit-style multi-stage obfuscation: annot_subject_stage, hex_codec_loop, incremental_eval_build, 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_obj0009_000.js
4718a27c2224fc36bf24f8e8e04598f1ad78adce4401c7be2708318738a6983d
pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 9 at offset 0x437B 469 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 1 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
annotation_subject_callee_hex_stage_000.js
5eb085c3ac007b233f73919da870769d4bd649a2a517db4f79753d1868da40bf
deobfuscated-js annotation-subject callee-key decoded JavaScript at offset 0x1ACE 5361 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 5 eval/decoder/string-building token(s).
legacy_pdfkit_stage_000.js
e10064de876ed24d745b6d18381d122fab57b8fe7eb20ae109c702552974a681
deobfuscated-js repeated-marker hex decoded JavaScript at offset 0x1B22 12160 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).
deobfuscated.js
404babebb85c61ddeaf8832841fd7e46caa8b0ab607c3896e2ed4f0dbd1c5581
deobfuscated-js PDF JavaScript deobfuscation pass 156993 bytes
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact contains 6 eval/decoder/string-building token(s). Carved artifact contains 3 long base64-like blob(s).