Analysis

  • max time kernel
    148s
  • max time network
    147s
  • platform
    windows11-ltsc_2024_x64
  • resource
    win11ltsc2024-20260709-en
  • resource tags

    arch:x64arch:x86image:win11ltsc2024-20260709-enlocale:en-usos:windows11-ltsc_2024-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

  • Executes dropped EXE 3 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 4 IoCs

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

  • Modifies registry class 1 IoCs
  • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx 5 IoCs
  • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory 3 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:5100
    • 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⤵
      • Executes dropped EXE
      • Checks whether UAC is enabled
      • Drops file in Program Files directory
      • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery
      • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx
      • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory
      PID:1736
      • 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⤵
        • Executes dropped EXE
        • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery
        • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx
        • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory
        PID:5892
        • C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe.exe
          "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader/Reader_sl.exe.exe"
          4⤵
          • Executes dropped EXE
          • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery
          • Modifies registry class
          PID:4488

Network

        MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v16

        Replay Monitor

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        Downloads

        RdrCEF.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroCEF\RdrCEF.exe
        • Size 10.1MB
        • SHA256 553c3be53838f68afd754627ec86f55267c1f1e17de875798084f5afebadc486
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AcroRd32.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe
        • Size 3.1MB
        • SHA256 3894d06cc985f4079fa4d3ecbc73abf868a2e411ba5ec5cd03a1a6463c937f59
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        Reader_sl.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe
        • Size 804KB
        • SHA256 5629e8cc546a9054de5b493356bf192b89764d14f96ddb5c3ef2b4109c90088b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        Reader_sl.exe.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe.exe
        • Size 60KB
        • SHA256 4b181185a4fb5e457e78c1b2d04190fe789587849e150f6846d23492d900c83b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        32BitMAPIBroker.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\plug_ins\pi_brokers\32BitMAPIBroker.exe
        • Size 854KB
        • SHA256 a40d768ba2032a30049e6c9c35d8516983e3fe842e5cbaa6e2eb0925a61d7703
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AdobeARMHelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARMHelper.exe
        • Size 1.1MB
        • SHA256 e7567bb98dbaf255f9aca256a32458675f47a2a152cdfe676b04c84bf5fb6298
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        identity_helper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\122.0.2365.106\identity_helper.exe
        • Size 1.9MB
        • SHA256 500fd55a1e5744010af409ac88dbec7884585879b30ec5d193144af424b51251
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        msedge.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\msedge.exe
        • Size 4.7MB
        • SHA256 fbf91e8165eb2e90e735a73fdde94f31d558c228d7b6b476630cad702a643e9b
        • 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 9fffdcd4035323708b42e7109bb41be6055a4ec46a120bb4e58953c6b9b6491c
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        pwahelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
        • Size 2.1MB
        • SHA256 15029f2f070f0c1ea6969abaea77cf1c589df6878ae953702f987de5dcbff5b1
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        MicrosoftEdgeUpdateComRegisterShell64.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate_bk\1.3.185.27\MicrosoftEdgeUpdateComRegisterShell64.exe
        • Size 968KB
        • SHA256 dc3baa454a0458d00cbba1e8fcf2b35d8ced8d1377f337098a8b2052f9c01434
        • 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

        ie_to_edge_stub.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView\Application\122.0.2365.106\BHO\ie_to_edge_stub.exe
        • Size 1.2MB
        • SHA256 8165b5d437458834b23f5b09a9d898fe2a2170718b0bb90caad223fda2d49db6
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        msedgewebview2.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView\Application\122.0.2365.106\msedgewebview2.exe
        • Size 4.2MB
        • SHA256 fd5c683292581ba0f32a9abc8e7e7a8237aac9f1483f1a636b52c5c440eca795
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        pwahelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView\Application\122.0.2365.106\pwahelper.exe
        • Size 1.9MB
        • SHA256 8f7e73a7412dd3db8ed993bc131c4657f4ef7285c988b08fdb9ed640219bb327
        • 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

        msedge_proxy.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\139.0.3405.125\msedge_proxy.exe
        • Size 2.2MB
        • SHA256 fa0499d3ea1f166852ad74ca3bb7d8a7787f0f2552482f9cfd1a9ac5c836e19f
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        msedge_pwa_launcher.exe.ico

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\139.0.3405.125\msedge_pwa_launcher.exe.ico
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 4785d266a2c476e0948100ea80f927d16389f7718b540daf0488457ba01958b0
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        Uninstall.exe.ico

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

        MpCmdRun.exe.ico

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Defender\MpCmdRun.exe.ico
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 02221d573edefa486ba8fe5aee3c8a10c8c7e3188914c0f22df06bb1338db790
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        RCXC119.tmp

        • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\RCXC119.tmp
        • Size 748KB
        • SHA256 b2a78d9ae4eaa4a2a832b85a734ba32956252c997af1851df1755e5eaaf7224b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AppVShNotify.exe.ico

        • Path C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun\AppVShNotify.exe.ico
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 463b6e99198762de39ea3c9156504527673355f452c17063d0fcc34caa3cfded
        • 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

        iexplore.exe.ico

        • Path C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe.ico
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 dd8074940b2a1e8d0ad513e7c6e2a0d0b11a857893f11dc77387800ca272e970
        • 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

        lyncicon.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\Installer\{90160000-000F-0000-1000-0000000FF1CE}\lyncicon.exe
        • Size 1.5MB
        • SHA256 9289db49d882ce10eaf3789a9fe0a9a0e39218287bedab2f4cd26676a7720c73
        • 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

        maintenanceservice.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\maintenanceservice.exe
        • Size 1.0MB
        • SHA256 af7c8e4404f1b2a8cff842d05335772bcb8ef960d6d67c3427808d76c77bab06
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        vlc.exe.ico

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

        OfflineScannerShell.exe.ico

        • Path C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\Offline\OfflineScannerShell.exe.ico
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 9e3f1f8e5166514df44b02a1e0bf7474708dafba161e263cff087af62ba89ae5
        • 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

        RdrManifest2.msi

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

        VC_redist.x86.exe

        • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{4d8dcf8c-a72a-43e1-9833-c12724db736e}\VC_redist.x86.exe
        • Size 1.4MB
        • SHA256 b51cd35c5e73bfad2d2d08001e9d3095f6ea8a38a0ee57e271f4b76c2e96f9b9
        • 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

        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 92b2f9ac8d36f9c7206176f36f187c00d9e9216d07e2e0128179067f69bd01a1
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        OneDriveSetup.exe

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDrive\18.151.0729.0013\OneDriveSetup.exe
        • Size 27.3MB
        • SHA256 e18c65d4abec0b6a7b829bdcb811c4bfdbf5af43a664daab3050fd9f9bf4c21a
        • 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 7aa820dbe24212028a74e7ca4d7ce8269a1ab7a846a32f01eaf1592d1320b966
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

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

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-09_a769feffb88e52523eff2d255368e434_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe.ico
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 2f33dacaebb8bdf6d2d88550cce349c09b51dfeb4f499796f32bd30e14aab86c
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        ArmUI.ini

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

        Tmp2870.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp2870.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 19fe53c801ad7edc635f61e9e28d07da31780c2480e6f37ecfc63fffe1b250fe
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        TmpFDA5.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpFDA5.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 ff9b4cf04e3202f150f19c1711767361343935da7841c98b876c42fd2cabce9b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        memory/5100-1100-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004DD000-memory.dmp

        memory/5100-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004DD000-memory.dmp

        memory/5892-2819-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004DE000-memory.dmp

        memory/5892-2783-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004DE000-memory.dmp