Malicious PDF — malware analysis report

Static analysis result for SHA-256 fcede27c2941a2e5…

MALICIOUS

PDF

384.4 KB Created: 2008-05-22 16:39:04 +02:00 Authoring application: (ImageMagick) (via GPL Ghostscript 8.61) First seen: 2026-05-10
MD5: 1a79ea52ba6803a8dc5ddd89a81005d1 SHA-1: 459bc6553ab272aa2dda8e81fcdf8155a3f5be4e SHA-256: fcede27c2941a2e5932e1ac917703cf26efc4042047241288fbd5391547ca315
476 Risk Score

Malware Insights

MITRE ATT&CK
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment T1059.007 JavaScript

This PDF file contains embedded JavaScript that leverages a launch action to execute cmd.exe. The JavaScript also attempts to export a data object named 'test.pdf', which is identified as a Windows executable payload. This indicates the document is designed to trick the user into opening a malicious executable disguised as a PDF.

Machine Learning

  • Nyx PDF Classifier malicious score 0.9972

Heuristics 12

  • Adobe Reader Launch action command execution critical CVE exact CVE_2010_1240
    PDF uses the Adobe Reader/Acrobat Launch action pattern associated with CVE-2010-1240: cmd.exe is invoked with attacker-controlled parameters, paired with an embedded/exported payload.
  • ClamAV: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586 critical CLAMAV_DETECTION
    ClamAV detected this file as malware: Pdf.Tool.Agent-1388586
  • Launch action critical PDF_LAUNCH
    PDF contains a /Launch action whose target is an executable, URL, or UNC path — can start an external application
  • Embedded Windows executable payload in PDF stream critical PDF_EMBEDDED_PE_PAYLOAD
    PDF stream bytes contain an embedded Windows executable with a verified PE header. Exploit chains often hide droppers inside ordinary streams rather than standard /EmbeddedFile attachments.
  • /Launch action target: cmd.exe critical PDF_LAUNCH_COMMAND
    PDF /Launch action specifies an executable target with parameters '/Q /C %HOMEDRIVE%&cd %HOMEPATH%&(if exist "Desktop\\test.pdf" (cd "Desktop"' — references a known-dangerous executable (cmd, PowerShell, etc.).
  • Embedded attachment masquerades: declared document, content is windows-executable critical PDF_EMBEDDED_FILESPEC_CONTENT_MISMATCH
    An /EmbeddedFile attachment's declared filename extension or /Subtype MIME type contradicts the magic bytes of its decompressed content. The attachment is declared as a benign document or image but the bytes are an executable or executable-bearing archive. This is a deliberate deception used to hide droppers in PDF attachments and is a generic indicator of embed-and-drop weaponisation, independent of any specific CVE.
  • /Launch action paired with attachment-dropping JS API high PDF_LAUNCH_PLUS_DROPPER_JS
    PDF combines a /Launch action with a JavaScript API call that writes or opens an attached/external resource — the canonical shape of the CVE-2010-1240 /Launch + exportDataObject family. Benign PDFs do not pair these surfaces; the combination indicates a drop-and-execute chain regardless of the specific JS API knobs or /Launch target.
  • Suspicious extracted artifact medium 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.
  • JavaScript action low 1 related finding 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.
  • Embedded file low PDF_EMBEDDED
    PDF embeds a file attachment — could carry an executable or another weaponised document as a nested payload
  • 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 http://taz.newffr.com/TAZ/Cryptologie/papers/inchash.pdf In PDF document text
    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Euclidean_algorithmReferenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.89.9577Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/Referenced by PDF JavaScript
    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MultisetIn PDF document text
    • http://www.math.ubc.ca/In PDF document text
    • http://en.wikipedia.org/Referenced by PDF JavaScript

Related samples 8

Ranked by shared artifacts, heuristics, extracted URLs, CVEs, and signatures.

Full JSON: related samples API

Extracted artifacts 12

Files carved from inside the sample during analysis.

FilenameKindSourceSize
test.pdf pdf-embedded-file PDF EmbeddedFile object 336 at offset 0x56E61 98304 bytes
SHA-256: ba208f7657a2fe0ad6cd602ac9d5cd39882e6aa3cfbba8cededf81b79f3f5b94
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
actual_type=PE; declared_or_context_type=PDF; filename=test.pdf; kind=pdf-embedded-file
javascript_obj0337_000.js pdf-javascript-stream PDF /JS object 337 at offset 0x5FDB9 53 bytes
SHA-256: b1a09f919e0f5d1c1d284849c9af93bae6fd1411634dfdc491e126f9cd327f3f
Preview script
First 1,000 lines of the extracted script
this.exportDataObject({ cName: "test", nLaunch: 0 });
stream_072_off00030252.bin decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x30252 4537 bytes
SHA-256: 90570f8106b8b7a4a7f82ae14c63ccedb26a852fcd48f9189c90dec6495b3b44
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact entropy is 7.69, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
stream_073_off00031462.bin decompressed-pdf-stream PDF FlateDecoded stream at offset 0x31462 13502 bytes
SHA-256: 9a62cbfa415a1a6090d4dd411c337935aa8e1c69ecf3c7931a5465130bf195a2
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact entropy is 7.90, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
font_02_type1_off00034870.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x34870 4050 bytes
SHA-256: afac4dc8820c37c0a02e2eef0c00ab85395848351c51bb2b452c140f5ebd833c
font_03_type1_off0003588d.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x3588D 6619 bytes
SHA-256: 40b260748efa5b281a7ebe85be475c4c2b9252e1d8e65144f457957767406a53
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact entropy is 7.85, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
font_04_type1_off0003726f.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x3726F 1896 bytes
SHA-256: 2c05757ac0f5a1bae03e4a954ea47347c0681c2c31b47760d3f3843464a49c62
font_05_type1_off00037a53.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x37A53 1971 bytes
SHA-256: dfb29444d2ea997bbcc683a355864c73540fdc34009e6263f2385a9f14c249aa
font_06_type1_off0003826f.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x3826F 4394 bytes
SHA-256: b6fbd00a04877eec0e853cbb6b9d758e35d77d1780443c0d382ac500dbd84fa4
Detection
ClamAV: No threats found
Obfuscation or payload: likely
Carved artifact entropy is 7.66, consistent with packed or encrypted content.
font_07_type1_off00039411.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x39411 1436 bytes
SHA-256: 3dd23495cd097efb540f9178ba9dfc50f169637a950f36ab9c4ea92f846bb5db
font_08_type1_off00039a20.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x39A20 2072 bytes
SHA-256: a831325f9b505cfc8b5c5dd4bd82de3e18ecbaef39c574a6c3d842f21bd5a68a
font_09_type1_off000535ca.bin pdf-font-stream PDF embedded font (type1) at offset 0x535CA 2351 bytes
SHA-256: 281687fc5d60fa9f8440986d556dce44eec4e23220b2e4c346ffd748b6c309f9

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