Turns Out Themed Microsoft Word Documents Are Actually Malware

You’ve probably encountered malicious Word documents more than once. But do you know how to spot them? Or how to avoid opening them? Many times, it’s not easy to distinguish between real documents and fake ones.

Microsoft Word documents are all the rage these days. If you can’t have a Foosball table in your house, you can have a Word document that plays Foosball music. If you want to feel that you are writing a letter to your boss, you can do so with a Word document, complete with a gold pen. If you are unable to find a Word document, you can have your very own Word document, complete with your very own name. The possibilities are endless.

A short while ago, someone sent me an email with an attachment. A Microsoft Word document, with a theme—a Silverlight theme, specifically. A Silverlight theme is a wrapper on top of HTML, intended to provide a more pleasant viewing experience for users who prefer to work in the Office suite.

Windows-11-Preview-Build-22000160

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  • A new Microsoft virus document masquerading as one created using Windows 11 Alpha has been discovered.
  • To effectively enter the system, the malicious documents use VBA macros.
  • Given their past experience in similar instances, the FIN7 gang is suspected of being behind this assault.

Turns-Out-Themed-Microsoft-Word-Documents-Are-Actually-Malware

Microsoft customers will have to deal with another another issue. A new Microsoft Word document virus has been identified by a security research company. The maldoc disguises itself as a Windows 11 Alpha document. As Microsoft attempts to keep on top of the issue, Anomali Threat Research has identified six identical dangerous viruses and advises users to be cautious.

In the recent past, Microsoft has been the target of malware assaults in which attackers pretended to be familiar and widely used productivity products in order to start an attack. “Users-Progress-072021-1.doc” is the name of the malicious document found.

The attack happened in late June.

The assault, according to Anomali, began place in late June and concluded in late July. The FIN7 gang was behind the assault, according to the company, and the primary goal was to deploy a Javascript variant via the backdoor, as they have been attempting since 2018. Since 2013, FIN7 has been regarded the longest-running cyber-attack organization. 

The infection chain began with an image that claimed to have been created using Windows 11 Alpha. The following step was either ‘Enable content’ or ‘Enable editing,’ according to the picture.

When the news surfaced, a Twitter user called NinjaOperator speculated on whether FIN7 was behind the hack.

Instructions on the document’s cover are used to entice users.

Visual Basic for Application macros are used in the malware document. A javascript payload is dropped after the operation is completed successfully. When a user performs fundamental tasks like ‘enabling editing’ or ‘enabling content,’ the macro is activated, exactly as the instructions state on the cover.

The attack is less likely to affect users who are acquainted with Windows 11 builds and variants, but others may fall for the deception and execute the file.

Several checks may be performed by the malware document, including:

  • capacity of memory
  • Language
  • VM check
  • Check CLEARMIND

CLEARMIND is a POS service provider’s domain. FIN7 is renowned for focusing on such domains in order to get access to huge amounts of data.

Despite efforts made to stop the assaults, the organization continues to operate. Users are advised to be extremely cautious with all files.

Have you recently been the victim of a malware attack? In the comments area below, please share any suggestions you’ve found useful.

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For the past year, we’ve seen a lot of new kinds of malware that masquerade as everyday documents and spread by the millions. Phishing emails that pretend to be from banks and government agencies, fake antivirus software downloads, and fake updates to popular apps. But most of these nasty things are malicious macros, which are text-based programs that enable the user to automate tasks like running a macro from a copy of Microsoft Word, which can make these things much, much worse.. Read more about email spoofing and let us know what you think.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can malware be in a Word document?

Yes, malware can be in a word document.

Are Word documents safe to open?

Word documents are safe to open.

Is it safe to download Word documents?

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