efficient solution. The system's effectiveness is
demonstrated through rigorous testing on a real-world
dataset containing 105,000 PDF samples. The results
show that the model achieves an accuracy of 98.9%,
significantly outperforming deep-learning-based
detection methods and commercial antivirus software.
Additionally, hybrid RF-SVM model effectively
reduces false positives, ensuring reliable threat
detection while maintaining high precision. The use
of Flask provides an accessible web interface for real-
time scanning, making it a practical solution for
cybersecurity professionals and organizations.
As PDF-based cyber threats continue to evolve,
developing robust and adaptive detection methods
remains crucial. By integrating static analysis with
machine learning, the system provides a highly
accurate, scalable, and interpretable approach to
detecting malicious PDFs in real-time. Future
improvements will focus on enhancing dynamic
analysis capabilities, integrating real-time
monitoring, and refining feature selection techniques
to stay ahead of emerging malware threats.
2 RELATED WORKS
PDF malware detection has been an active area of
research due to the increasing exploitation of
vulnerabilities in PDF readers and document
structures. Attackers leverage JavaScript execution,
embedded file exploits, and heap spraying techniques
to craft malicious PDFs capable of bypassing
traditional security mechanisms. Various approaches
have been proposed to tackle this challenge, including
static analysis, dynamic analysis, and machine
learning-based methods. Early research on PDF
security has focused on understanding the document
structure and associated vulnerabilities. Adobe
provides an extensive reference on the PDF
specification, highlighting various document
elements that attackers may exploit. Zhang and
Rabaiotti analyzed real-world PDF exploits,
emphasizing how attackers repeatedly abuse
JavaScript vulnerabilities in major PDF viewers J.
Zhang and J. Rabaiotti, (2018). Further research by
Zhang demonstrated techniques to make invisible
malware components visible, shedding light on how
embedded malicious payloads evade detection J.
Zhang, (2015).
Hybrid detection approaches combining static and
dynamic analysis have been explored to improve
detection accuracy. Tzermias et al. proposed a
method integrating document structure inspection
with runtime behaviour analysis to detect malicious
PDF activities Z. Tzermias et al., (2011). Similarly,
Ratanaworabhan et al. introduced NOZZLE, a
defence mechanism specifically designed to prevent
heap spraying attacks, which are commonly
employed in PDF exploits. Willems et al. further
advanced automated dynamic malware analysis
through CWS and box, enabling better behavioural
profiling of suspicious documents C. Willems et al.,
(2007).
Recent advances in machine learning (ML) and
deep learning have significantly improved PDF
malware detection capabilities. Goodfellow et al.
provided foundational insights into deep learning
methodologies, which have been adapted for security
applications, including malware classification
Goodfellow et al., (2016). Traditional ML algorithms,
such as those described by Mitchell, have also been
leveraged for PDF threat detection T. Mitchell, (1997).
Commercial solutions like Sophos Intercept-X
integrate ML-based threat intelligence for real-time
malware detection Sophos, (2018). Online analysis
tools such as Wepawet have been used for detecting
JavaScript-based PDF exploits Wepawet, (2018).
One of the key ML-based approaches in PDF
malware detection was introduced by Laskov and
Srndic, who proposed static detection of malicious
JavaScript-bearing PDFs by analyzing document
structure and embedded scripts 11. P. Laskov and N.
Srndic, (2011). Cross and Munson applied deep
parsing techniques to extract critical features,
enhancing the detection of embedded malware within
PDFs J. S. Cross and M. A. Munson, (2011). Maiorca
et al. explored data mining approaches in pattern
recognition to identify PDF-based threats effectively
D. Maiorca, (2012). Smutz and Stavrou demonstrated
the use of metadata and structural features for malicious
PDF detection, improving classification accuracy C.
Smutz and A. Stavrou, (2012). Understanding the
hierarchical structure of PDF documents plays a
crucial role in malware detection. Srndic and Laskov
proposed a hierarchical approach to analyze
document structures, detecting malware patterns
hidden within embedded objects and compressed
streams N. Srndic and P. Laskov, (2013). Open-
source tools like Poppler have been widely used for
parsing and analyzing PDF document structures,
aiding researchers in developing new detection
techniques Poppler, (2018). Cuan et al. introduced a
machine learning-based approach that combines
document parsing with feature extraction,
demonstrating high detection accuracy in PDF
malware classification tasks B. Cuan et al., (2018).
Feature selection and extraction remain critical
factors in improving ML- based PDF malware