Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 ec60ffdf238a8884…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

32.7 KB Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-04-01
MD5: 16a94ca5bbc1c09ae7dd8af613f252be SHA-1: 54d2d9308b2b30618eab5266e24982dbb7db9af2 SHA-256: ec60ffdf238a88846426d03ef4e86559a287f46a332539f3b2431bfb334a9501
258 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1059.005 Visual Basic T1204.002 Malicious File T1059.001 PowerShell T1059.003 Windows Command Shell

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, specifically utilizing the dangerous FORMULA API to call Win32 functions. The macros are designed to download a payload from one of the provided URLs, reconstructing the URL from concatenated strings. The ClamAV signature 'Xls.Downloader.Emotet04220-9942581-0' strongly suggests the Emotet family. The reconstructed download path '..\xewn.dll' and the executable name 'r"&"egsv"&"r"&"32.exe' indicate the likely execution of a second-stage payload.

Heuristics 7

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (1 sheet(s)) critical OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET
    Spreadsheet contains an Excel 4.0 (XLM) macro sheet — XLM was a major Office malware vector during 2020-2022 and evaded many VBA-focused controls before Microsoft tightened XLM defaults. Even legitimate XLM use is rare in modern workbooks.
  • Excel 4.0 Auto_Open defined name critical OOXML_XLM_AUTOOPEN_DEFINEDNAME
    Workbook defines _xlnm.Auto_Open or _xlnm.Auto_Close while containing an XLM macro sheet. This is the OOXML/XLSB auto-execution shape for Excel 4.0 macros.
  • Dangerous XLM formula APIs: FORMULA critical OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN
    Excel 4.0 macro sheet uses formula APIs that call directly into Win32 (=CALL/=EXEC/=REGISTER/=FORMULA). These are the primitives used to download payloads, write files, and start processes from an XLM macro without invoking VBA.
  • ClamAV: Xls.Downloader.Emotet04220-9942581-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet04220-9942581-0
  • External hyperlinks (1) low OOXML_EXTERNAL_HYPERLINKS
    Document contains 1 external hyperlink — clickable URLs are stored as external relationships. First target: http://www.centurypapers.com/database-wordpres/VDYOi/
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 7 hidden sheet(s) — hidden sheets are commonly used to conceal macro code, staging data, or intermediate payload construction
  • 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 https://www.doh-designsection.com/Files/LXZv9wBqLH/
    • http://draheimdesign.com/allyears_jdrf_video/DZEUcZ5/
    • http://dunyaaslan.com/cgi-bin/IwvOXl/
    • https://www.centurypapers.com/database-wordpres/VDYOi/
    • http://fontecmobile.com/pk/tRqU7/
    • http://dusangerzicgera.com/img/4v7QHP/
    • http://www.centurypapers.com/database-wordpres/VDYOi/
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/spreadsheetml/2006/main
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2006/main
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships
    • http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2009/9/ac
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2014/revision
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2015/revision2
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision3
    • http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/spreadsheetml/2016/revision6

Extracted artifacts 1

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
4153191ccbeaead436d640cd9bad7b4c39fa54474c8ec9a17be8e3e4600146ed		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 3602 bytes

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