Emotet — Office (OOXML) / .XLSM malware analysis

Static analysis result for SHA-256 ee7f7729dabac74b…

MALICIOUS

Office (OOXML) / .XLSM

40.9 KB Created: 2015-06-05 18:19:34 UTC Authoring application: Microsoft Excel 16.0300 First seen: 2022-03-02
MD5: 98de9db98d9f163f884bc471389f8204 SHA-1: 85434087a0ff5ac6d4fdbe56baedd142df97382e SHA-256: ee7f7729dabac74b4caf22c6371e40f273f2ec3df6f6135c7052a2554ecb9e07
290 Risk Score

Malware Insights

Emotet · confidence 95%

MITRE ATT&CK
T1218.010 System Binary Proxy Execution: Regsvr32 T1059.005 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Visual Basic T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

This XLSM file contains Excel 4.0 macros, identified by the OOXML_XLM_MACROSHEET and OOXML_XLM_DANGEROUS_FN heuristics. The macros are designed to download and execute a payload using regsvr32.exe, as indicated by the SE_LOLBIN_RUN_COMMAND heuristic and the reconstructed command line. The embedded URLs are the primary sources for the second-stage payload. The ClamAV detection of 'Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9940731-0' strongly suggests an Emotet family infection.

Heuristics 7

  • Excel 4.0 macro sheet (3 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.Emotet03220-9940731-0 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Xls.Downloader.Emotet03220-9940731-0
  • 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.
  • Hidden worksheet (hidden) low OOXML_HIDDEN_SHEET
    Excel workbook contains 5 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://queaventurasathya.com/licenses/r903sDTMHYLyn8ykMU/
    • https://axial-ing.fr/old/98WgLPFy5u2Xf/
    • https://escuelageneraljosedesanmartin.com/tmp/5vJR7J/
    • https://luape.es/wp-admin/moJpURVz/
    • https://indianbusinessclub.org/wtzrlyx/Nfisb7Le5JH/
    • https://cartelac.pt/wp-includes/VJMcayYWquGgVAGa/
    • https://queaventurasathya.com/li
    • 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 3

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
xlm_sheet_00.xml
5e3808a9ff7279b82f77d96bcef81cb2596be260674f7f0593c9b83067f0ef70		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/intlsheet1.xml 4070 bytes
xlm_sheet_01.xml
3f1e04bcb932a0d7a0ca09ad6e05d398d7a144c4cda86314010c0ec3e9f94573		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet1.xml 1278 bytes
xlm_sheet_02.xml
3877aa64e871d2d6fcc766f5b3af64ba0d301f656023d2e6e43652b8210d827c		 xlm-macrosheet OOXML XLM macro sheet: xl/macrosheets/sheet2.xml 1152 bytes

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