Analysis

  • max time kernel
    149s
  • max time network
    151s
  • platform
    windows10-2004_x64
  • resource
    win10v2004-20260513-en
  • resource tags

    arch:x64arch:x86image:win10v2004-20260513-enlocale:en-usos:windows10-2004-x64systemwindows
  • submitted
    13/08/2026, 14:59

General

  • Target
    2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
  • Size 1.9MB
  • Sample260813-sc1jcsbf55
  • SHA256 9409baa86582fc9eb742b2c5d1cf2bfdd8431424a5b8b3f28a178fc877022aae
  • 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 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 system certificate store 2 TTPs 3 IoCs
  • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx 5 IoCs
  • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory 3 IoCs

Processes

  • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
    "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_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:2936
    • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp/2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_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:1832
      • 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
        • Drops file in Program Files directory
        • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery
        • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx
        • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory
        PID:2108
        • 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
          PID:4656

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 1327e9126bd9a8bed4fbb0bc3b3d553cf342aa11c43d9fd06a957c1e1e68fe32
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AcroRd32.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe
        • Size 3.2MB
        • SHA256 5e01e7f199383397864143db9f48cdedb5fb29414a4646c1206ff5f0e0321016
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        Reader_sl.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe
        • Size 840KB
        • SHA256 cec4ba47cb493e5ec86d04cc6221a732d90427530b3938862c481caa76b1ac10
        • 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 5a2ff7042ba3b8c9555890019b1461b03ebddbe6d90236ef28abc7923849114c
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        arh.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\arh.exe
        • Size 872KB
        • SHA256 217f03a0f4d9b0eacbfcb8ed09ea5f110918fca0251f08afba6f48c116d61792
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        32BitMAPIBroker.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\plug_ins\pi_brokers\32BitMAPIBroker.exe
        • Size 890KB
        • SHA256 06cab3889f7ec4cd919854e4fac08a872a1a198bfd932998b88a03b80fa28046
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AdobeARMHelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARMHelper.exe
        • Size 1.2MB
        • SHA256 ce29a36eb0c21f9508937e556b8e9abcf197983725a795a4657baf35b303d8ad
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe
        • Size 6.4MB
        • SHA256 dc4177d176befcd9b140b4fae0d8433ea7508c747d2a5ab8b49dc81533011ba3
        • 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 7496981027ac95bbadd660807be3bdbd58ff2ddfcc841df555be35ccf26f9e13
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        notification_helper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\132.0.2957.140\notification_helper.exe
        • Size 2.1MB
        • SHA256 577973ffafb5e66b9bdefe5c2c08151a2ab9dbb7d1523fcfcdf38371be8c19b2
        • 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 1.3MB
        • SHA256 0c671988fdbb2c77673f640f00f6afeba5a4388a79ce393d75478e9667203b0c
        • 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 6ff2086365612bc3c11ba97f346b0bebdf2e078fd8476bd5ffa232c9d625b3f3
        • 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 2.6MB
        • SHA256 8f6d53526ba808d4ae55b4f4f93208163f4b9541c51b17050768e801c5b0e45f
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        pwahelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
        • Size 2.1MB
        • SHA256 49569e783c93533545d7284d5ef8846185975e85df2f148098fd68fe90d36108
        • 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

        MicrosoftEdgeUpdateOnDemand.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate_disable\1.3.195.65\MicrosoftEdgeUpdateOnDemand.exe
        • Size 886KB
        • SHA256 84cf1306df9f40be9ccdabc30e35aa952c378785d048af7982f5feb4e59c8f17
        • 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 8058e5abd34b2a709b2f41674f94488881ca04ec6b7a025d97fc2df796a9cb05
        • 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 2.2MB
        • SHA256 89307637e82783d84ef3e213fa4bdb7d483cb6eeca2d9346a5fa99b08821b5f5
        • 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 cf628ff54917ee582481c6767d7f213a9e2e60bdca5e4a0be3dcff55a82c194a
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        pwahelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\pwahelper.exe
        • Size 2.1MB
        • SHA256 8d00f753868e8e65a6cbfddd61c891ef494d1dfea6bc9e43dc34af15fea34309
        • 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

        RCX41A8.tmp

        • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\RCX41A8.tmp
        • Size 784KB
        • SHA256 bd83aa49d20252fb0b2f371e2dad23faded7df9dda9cbea295e51745414822f5
        • 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 867KB
        • SHA256 d9af5fc6151c1c4867f5c2a8c4a8f511d5cd7666d086d3533866a7fee8a6ba81
        • 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

        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.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-8.0.15-win-x64.exe

        • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{5625bb48-295c-4113-bc92-d6a69b19b04c}\windowsdesktop-runtime-8.0.15-win-x64.exe
        • Size 1.4MB
        • SHA256 d2d285750c84b4bc5d127571640df040c138c20541a5052b0049df227530d099
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        VC_redist.x64.exe

        • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{57a73df6-4ba9-4c1d-bbbb-517289ff6c13}\VC_redist.x64.exe
        • Size 1.4MB
        • SHA256 6ea01d01d5f3c7a6af521a221beef4eeae5e9548a752fbfd8c9e9c3d029d16c5
        • 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 1e19f452773938928791affea4ccb4968bcdfc94c137b6768892ade947436511
        • 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

        OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.exe

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.exe
        • Size 3.1MB
        • SHA256 d544cd578e5f1a3fae079803e397242c6ad0e979ca565f3719a3925e19b25ff4
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        iconcache_idx.db

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
        • Size 56KB
        • SHA256 fa8d02e83d432b8eac3797feb95122094910b119589b5d8b1cec4e3de2a5f65a
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
        • Size 1.1MB
        • SHA256 292cf0077302c19ee60d3c539c742dbb847c29ba67dc805cf0a26744e5128832
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe.ico

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-13_ad1fefdcdf6a7743b986a66b3bb79245_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

        Tmp8141.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp8141.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 ff9b4cf04e3202f150f19c1711767361343935da7841c98b876c42fd2cabce9b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        TmpC996.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpC996.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 19fe53c801ad7edc635f61e9e28d07da31780c2480e6f37ecfc63fffe1b250fe
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        memory/2108-3295-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E7000-memory.dmp

        memory/2108-3289-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E7000-memory.dmp

        memory/2936-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E6000-memory.dmp

        memory/2936-1142-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E6000-memory.dmp