Analysis

  • max time kernel
    149s
  • max time network
    152s
  • platform
    windows10-2004_x64
  • resource
    win10v2004-20260513-en
  • resource tags

    arch:x64arch:x86image:win10v2004-20260513-enlocale:en-usos:windows10-2004-x64systemwindows
  • submitted
    09/08/2026, 11:04

General

  • Target
    2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
  • Size 1.9MB
  • Sample260809-m6ek4aab63
  • SHA256 a72a260288bf662f334bd514f33f8a0aebd789cccfee765eb876f5b207a97ba2
  • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

Malware Config

Signatures

  • Checks computer location settings 2 TTPs 1 IoCs

    Looks up country code configured in the registry, likely geofence.

  • Executes dropped EXE 1 IoCs
  • Reads user/profile data of web browsers 3 TTPs

    Infostealers often target stored browser data, which can include saved credentials etc.

  • Checks whether UAC is enabled 1 TTPs 1 IoCs
  • Drops file in Program Files directory 64 IoCs
  • Enumerates physical storage devices 1 TTPs

    Attempts to interact with connected storage/optical drive(s).

  • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery 1 TTPs 2 IoCs

    Attempt gather information about the system language of a victim in order to infer the geographical location of that host.

  • Modifies system certificate store 2 TTPs 3 IoCs
  • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx 3 IoCs
  • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory 2 IoCs

Processes

  • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
    "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe"
    1⤵
    • Drops file in Program Files directory
    • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery
    • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx
    • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory
    PID:1804
    • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp/2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      2⤵
      • Checks computer location settings
      • Executes dropped EXE
      • Checks whether UAC is enabled
      • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery
      • Modifies system certificate store
      • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx
      • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory
      PID:2756
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe
        "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
        3⤵
          PID:1780

    Network

          MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v16

          Replay Monitor

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          Downloads

          AcroRd32.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe
          • Size 3.1MB
          • SHA256 2804d86fa13d07d8cf1f593a4c90336be09141d69710e9c7ffdb486bc0f5e871
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          arh.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\arh.exe
          • Size 836KB
          • SHA256 366fdccb7e337e51a33eff7f2e0b6ef79bdccd8582e34f18d21371163facec48
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe
          • Size 6.4MB
          • SHA256 5593cc0789f6789b5c3a4a78026a9ae5cb6ecc3a410c3a16047b119ea1e386e1
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          ieinstal.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\ieinstal.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 dd8074940b2a1e8d0ad513e7c6e2a0d0b11a857893f11dc77387800ca272e970
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          msedge.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\132.0.2957.140\msedge.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 4785d266a2c476e0948100ea80f927d16389f7718b540daf0488457ba01958b0
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          msedge_pwa_launcher.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\132.0.2957.140\msedge_pwa_launcher.exe
          • Size 2.2MB
          • SHA256 58369914ab17610c67db44e0c7c361543e6381b73d7d017f4870ce04701f9684
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          notification_helper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\132.0.2957.140\notification_helper.exe
          • Size 2.0MB
          • SHA256 bd1b6e443dbace856b94bd270b0e73169750c43ffd25bdc8e3a1067994c54dfe
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          ie_to_edge_stub.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\BHO\ie_to_edge_stub.exe
          • Size 1.2MB
          • SHA256 09a9be9caed49872dbdc7447ec59302f038c73a551f417a16bb27d5af380f8bb
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          msedge_proxy.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\msedge_proxy.exe
          • Size 2.2MB
          • SHA256 ec31dd0cffdbadb9b618dee816811949d8bb0db462d154a2f1582639044ec398
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          msedge_pwa_launcher.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\msedge_pwa_launcher.exe
          • Size 2.5MB
          • SHA256 6b33582d127307667da19741b218729efe6599f0afbbc6420bcb5498c8aa54f8
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.1MB
          • SHA256 f83a3eee382ee0076a3cf7b03a784c957c191de59ee3ce2da6084c36912c6640
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          MicrosoftEdgeUpdate.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate_bk\MicrosoftEdgeUpdate.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 2e039a7ce5af3783a3d522d27112bfe7a1dac319ed5061de3bef89790d5ad63e
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          MicrosoftEdgeComRegisterShellARM64.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate_disable\1.3.195.65\MicrosoftEdgeComRegisterShellARM64.exe
          • Size 934KB
          • SHA256 474d57b46b67ae4bedd11bbde23cb8787ed25664a81d233668fc7ad771177712
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          identity_helper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView\Application\132.0.2957.140\identity_helper.exe
          • Size 1.8MB
          • SHA256 e8d1822eeee75f9bbeb89c572b11cad21a4509925db4eefbb0e634d5750f1010
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          setup.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\139.0.3405.125\Installer\setup.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 3d275500cf3ebda5e878d81dcbbaa53528397ccbe631aae8fae60de1ffefccf7
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          identity_helper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\139.0.3405.125\identity_helper.exe
          • Size 2.1MB
          • SHA256 ffeab7f5518ff8cc941d6ff66194b957d8fe6384df6f9c76321f40d33786cfe7
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          msedgewebview2.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\139.0.3405.125\msedgewebview2.exe
          • Size 4.1MB
          • SHA256 6427fb28978e366233d897b3c2474eb91f982962cdead1f45add104620bc84d3
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.1MB
          • SHA256 bc44a19da1fc8d54f94330afda0b26e9841ce8a3adcf960a61e6381f80cb5325
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          Uninstall.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Maintenance Service\Uninstall.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 44ae793c391e8578709e181e83cb820caaa10c08844440885d969a6c839b8a2b
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          7z.exe.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe.exe
          • Size 748KB
          • SHA256 616aa784fab20c50f21e661de1da8e7d559eb6bbab78e3fc67e33c2cabc6bf1c
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          AppVShNotify.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun\AppVShNotify.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 2a5c5c2bc95c18eded222f0a38752717c1a6ad20e31bcda6472bbba77ed22fe4
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          OfficeClickToRun.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun\OfficeClickToRun.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 19306f3f899e8bae15a744924f1ebf2ce88624f5dd297e3993645fe8453adaa9
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          javaws.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-1.8\bin\javaws.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 6c3d33a5119708abbf19b802f0908183037cd57a6394e45b7b234a76ef4b46c5
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          XLICONS.EXE.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\XLICONS.EXE.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 6454633b8c6a69aad48c3fc556c5e81cb5362db0c449b3f543bddfa41eba8d6b
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          dbcicons.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\Installer\{90160000-000F-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}\dbcicons.exe
          • Size 831KB
          • SHA256 e81233ade698a169bd9d45156ff5d1285c6461ad8e3dc9639964b023d0fc88df
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          misc.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\Installer\{90160000-000F-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}\misc.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 df2cca9b322f9432b3f3aa7b91a12dd5f22fd50e589e3107e066d99bdb071176
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          ohub32.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\Installer\{90160000-000F-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}\ohub32.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 063c8f44d23e1ebbe390ea320eee672c449f47333120b7abbd4a78094c613113
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          pptico.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\Installer\{90160000-000F-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}\pptico.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 3b07d1aaa1c9c27082d7811d694aae3d422d5d965a91b2d4b8ecda3a79f760a2
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          sscicons.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\Installer\{90160000-000F-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}\sscicons.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 b2a350ffac5074add67fe974467351777915de5a319be7879ba15d1f6915a092
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          wordicon.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\Installer\{90160000-000F-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}\wordicon.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 5bd706a18e0cf54197df7f1d5239f3e058652bfde372afcab230ee9b95ba14a5
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          vlc.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 3b17b29b6c4e39fc36571f8e0795eae6559637529602ae7a37d5f8f6254d0500
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          wmplayer.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 a32208cf5c16d7223999e6ecf1c185bc88d519483ff56ad5ca5f2cc00e677307
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          ArmReport.ini

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\ArmReport.ini
          • Size 782B
          • SHA256 8395f93b0e0240f5c79ce70bc2257f9cb0d92227b15f7724ba65b1c5c0b19625
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          ArmReport.ini

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\ArmReport.ini
          • Size 634B
          • SHA256 4f9b2f699943dc7a42321fde879d884202e9b3bd8391519cc69bd83d8d485aae
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          AdobeARMHelper.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\22118\AdobeARMHelper.exe
          • Size 413KB
          • SHA256 fd115ae8ebd2f37cf1ef72f75242206cf1331c7cb258305011302e981137ee5e
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          AdobeARMHelper.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\22118\AdobeARMHelper.exe
          • Size 1.1MB
          • SHA256 1994b304ab95ff9750d59c1ece7a83a30efebc88bcd45df581c17bdfc495357c
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          AdobeARMHelper.exe.ico

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\22118\AdobeARMHelper.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 2f33dacaebb8bdf6d2d88550cce349c09b51dfeb4f499796f32bd30e14aab86c
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          RdrManifest2.msi

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\{291AA914-A987-4CE9-BD63-AC0A92D435E5}\RdrManifest2.msi
          • Size 18KB
          • SHA256 0abcb8b7c0bda3128316b3e4f4a5857e9c8194105043a0c0e9801a1a96105d01
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          integrator.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\ClickToRun\{9AC08E99-230B-47e8-9721-4577B7F124EA}\integrator.exe
          • Size 7.4MB
          • SHA256 46aba5a69773ccbc6d35f20bc2a20fe35cc0ced86338db0cded8e2f5b65a0a9a
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          VC_redist.x86.exe.ico

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{4d8dcf8c-a72a-43e1-9833-c12724db736e}\VC_redist.x86.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 6ed1664d7718a68084ea1a4abb1d9621a6ae8da8e19db35cfca13aaa4c05eb33
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          vcredist_x86.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{61087a79-ac85-455c-934d-1fa22cc64f36}\vcredist_x86.exe
          • Size 1.2MB
          • SHA256 47a7c55976bfb0dfb0b611d2dc13c7edfb76c4d969ae69869f87679af28db8e9
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          vcredist_x64.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{ca67548a-5ebe-413a-b50c-4b9ceb6d66c6}\vcredist_x64.exe
          • Size 1.2MB
          • SHA256 b72e0aab7ec168a592f79da69cb8636b06970acb59ab7c2cc9e6fb99e3bce5fc
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          windowsdesktop-runtime-7.0.16-win-x64.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{ef5af41f-d68c-48f7-bfb0-5055718601fc}\windowsdesktop-runtime-7.0.16-win-x64.exe
          • Size 1.3MB
          • SHA256 975c747a4ed45783a238927ae5c9bcac1d2871d6e30bf92674ce4a4d9f919b39
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          OneDriveSetup.exe.ico

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDrive\18.151.0729.0013\OneDriveSetup.exe.ico
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 3a2d7fd9799178af58fbd08a2fffc56398cbf289c7ddd5c5f0fb2e241395261e
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
          • Size 1.1MB
          • SHA256 b99c2e9ce4d44a57e3829c780619ec117292f8ae988be72f48c6408075121256
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          ArmUI.ini

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\ArmUI.ini
          • Size 251KB
          • SHA256 b4d4dcd9594d372d7c0c975d80ef5802c88502895ed4b8a26ca62e225f2f18b0
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          Tmp6C90.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp6C90.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 ff9b4cf04e3202f150f19c1711767361343935da7841c98b876c42fd2cabce9b
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          Tmp96BF.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp96BF.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 19fe53c801ad7edc635f61e9e28d07da31780c2480e6f37ecfc63fffe1b250fe
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          Tmp96CF.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp96CF.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 dcc9d2695125406282ba990fec39403c44b12964acf51b5e0dc7f2080d714398
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          memory/1804-1125-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004DD000-memory.dmp

          memory/1804-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004DD000-memory.dmp