{
  "family": "macrodrop",
  "sample_count": 2,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "TrojanDownloader:O97M/Macrodrop is a highly prevalent category of malware that utilizes weaponized Microsoft Office macros (VBA code) to establish an initial foothold and download secondary payloads (`T1059.005`). It is the prototypical 'first stage' for many sophisticated attacks, acting as the bridge between a phishing email and a severe system compromise.<br><br><b>Understanding Macrodrop</b><br>To an end-user, Macrodrop looks like a legitimate, but slightly broken, Word or Excel document that requests them to 'Enable Content' or 'Enable Macros' to view the full text. For a security team, Macrodrop is a critical Initial Access vector (`T1566.001`). The macro itself is not the ultimate threat; it is merely the delivery vehicle for something much worse, such as Emotet, Trickbot, or a ransomware loader.<br><br><b>Execution and Evasion Strategies</b><br>Macrodrop relies entirely on social engineering. It is distributed via massive spear-phishing campaigns. When the user clicks 'Enable Content', the embedded VBA script executes. Modern Macrodrop variants heavily obfuscate their VBA code using string concatenation, random variable names, and junk code to evade static AV scanning (`T1027`). The executed macro typically utilizes `cmd.exe` or PowerShell (`T1059.001`) to silently connect to a remote, compromised server, download the secondary executable (often heavily packed), save it to `%Temp%`, and execute it (`T1105`).<br><br><b>Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)</b><br>The primary impact is the successful download of a secondary, destructive payload. Host-based IoCs include EDR alerts for Microsoft Office applications (`WINWORD.EXE`, `EXCEL.EXE`) exhibiting anomalous behavior, specifically spawning child processes like `cmd.exe`, `powershell.exe`, `wscript.exe`, or `certutil.exe`. Network IoCs involve the Office application attempting to make outbound HTTP/HTTPS connections to unknown or recently registered domains.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [],
  "enrichment_level": "expert-seo",
  "faq": [],
  "faq_count": 0,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1105",
    "T1059.005",
    "T1059.001",
    "T1566.001"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-06-09",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1566.001",
      "name": "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment (The primary delivery method)",
      "tactic": "Initial Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1059.005",
      "name": "Command and Scripting Interpreter: Visual Basic (Executing the weaponized macro)",
      "tactic": "Execution"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1059.001",
      "name": "Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell (Often used by the macro to download the payload)",
      "tactic": "Execution"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1105",
      "name": "Ingress Tool Transfer (Downloading the secondary malware)",
      "tactic": "Command and Control"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Isolate the endpoint to prevent the downloaded secondary payload from establishing C2 communication or moving laterally.",
    "Extract and deobfuscate the VBA macro from the malicious document to identify the payload download URLs.",
    "Search enterprise proxy and DNS logs for the extracted C2 URLs to identify other potentially infected machines.",
    "Implement Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to block the execution of Office macros originating from the Internet (Mark of the Web)."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not focus solely on removing the Word document; you must assume the secondary payload executed and hunt for it.",
    "Avoid allowing users to enable macros universally; employ strict macro execution policies and trusted locations."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ]
}