Analysis

  • max time kernel
    149s
  • max time network
    140s
  • platform
    windows10-2004_x64
  • resource
    win10v2004-20260513-en
  • resource tags

    arch:x64arch:x86image:win10v2004-20260513-enlocale:en-usos:windows10-2004-x64systemwindows
  • submitted
    14/08/2026, 23:53

General

  • Target
    2026-08-14_4c14c3af84e392f49b09186da1710b0c_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
  • Size 1.9MB
  • Sample260814-3xccdabn21
  • SHA256 d92a7e4e343c331c55fed46c3eca81973e3bd442491c3e9e22559818097ce4dd
  • 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\2026-08-14_4c14c3af84e392f49b09186da1710b0c_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
    "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-14_4c14c3af84e392f49b09186da1710b0c_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:4476
    • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-14_4c14c3af84e392f49b09186da1710b0c_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp/2026-08-14_4c14c3af84e392f49b09186da1710b0c_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:4344
      • 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:468

    Network

          MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v16

          Replay Monitor

          Loading Replay Monitor...

          Downloads

          arh.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\arh.exe
          • Size 880KB
          • SHA256 eaa8a4199dddd456c0a0f2dd2c8b8c2508bff845fb3e38cff5f70dac146ee554
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe
          • Size 6.5MB
          • SHA256 f67ed0bcd9b6d9c06fa7333248143b26927c36a51758872a86700b5dd8a5f0f4
          • 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 4047e0218a618673c7dfc808747c546b86da9f437ffab521b45e8c34c8e38db6
          • 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 7d1fe421fdecd6d620d83b7782fd12db67bd34ff54e98275f220d34a93097160
          • 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 58abdc06d3a97ee0bb7cb362adc900287f8fd01736224b6804a026dd1632032f
          • 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 4a6f451d010eba7aed8e0f0d424ea5a6a714723d3f9b173472fc74c888a35302
          • 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 b59e61a032b608c83aacd65d2b3236a747849724d624354478552c437b5816fa
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.2MB
          • SHA256 38e7dc47b38446b307222d59ec41ea4ba3e87d5fd6189dff35b03482a2d04950
          • 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 894KB
          • SHA256 62562af1389eeca9886b7d8d32eecf9e2dc55f7c5d39779f9832c23bf2122fe8
          • 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 7c878075daff9d9a3b07655f5dae0127e3c24d2fdef7ce66e2be5443dceab778
          • 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 3c5c6cad54129d2f9651198a3cd4437dcd7e042cfc50e279b501ea74e8acc0bc
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          msedgewebview2.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\139.0.3405.125\msedgewebview2.exe
          • Size 4.2MB
          • SHA256 d8d85d7ffe4cfcd2096965af24edb4cf8fa934ccdcd9aae36d148279c3b3c827
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.2MB
          • SHA256 078bed9e4ee907e9d3b0226c4da8e0ec591481fbe07351fa0b1b162ffb029f18
          • 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

          RCX5B98.tmp

          • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\RCX5B98.tmp
          • Size 792KB
          • SHA256 fa66f42f406494feddaeb3ade59c79b645e95dd5248e54e04783d2f588f3938b
          • 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 875KB
          • SHA256 54ad54bd3a0f687757bba0228549e44ea542bd7b9f143a1dfcde7b8b56e5cc20
          • 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\10616\AdobeARMHelper.exe
          • Size 413KB
          • SHA256 fd115ae8ebd2f37cf1ef72f75242206cf1331c7cb258305011302e981137ee5e
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          AdobeARMHelper.exe.ico

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\10616\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

          VC_redist.x86.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{4d8dcf8c-a72a-43e1-9833-c12724db736e}\VC_redist.x86.exe
          • Size 1.4MB
          • SHA256 774484d307809bdfa2e718793cb1f3f2c452bec18f37385960e74bb30d1673ed
          • 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 db4e4c07483c8da7d3343645167489576f66ac8da6825d145b3458236e0014ee
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          vcredist_x86.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{61087a79-ac85-455c-934d-1fa22cc64f36}\vcredist_x86.exe
          • Size 1.2MB
          • SHA256 175bd6fca3e455e7d5686fd603eef368acef44df5d72b569a830c6ecd6eca70f
          • 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

          OneDrive.exe

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe
          • Size 2.3MB
          • SHA256 807981f35e1ae7c843e6e2d54fd138b786952d789f1b12fb0cdc62da9d29bb8c
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          iconcache_idx.db

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
          • Size 56KB
          • SHA256 7973a0645ffe52f75bfb21899f07d470dc80a9a09ed44c90279729ffb1f8cffa
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          2026-08-14_4c14c3af84e392f49b09186da1710b0c_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-14_4c14c3af84e392f49b09186da1710b0c_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
          • Size 1.1MB
          • SHA256 c50622b2d7a235a911f3414ca7850ec51c725c226225c4a0f1316f860254b16c
          • 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

          Tmp9361.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp9361.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 ff9b4cf04e3202f150f19c1711767361343935da7841c98b876c42fd2cabce9b
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          TmpB776.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpB776.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 19fe53c801ad7edc635f61e9e28d07da31780c2480e6f37ecfc63fffe1b250fe
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          TmpB796.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpB796.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 dcc9d2695125406282ba990fec39403c44b12964acf51b5e0dc7f2080d714398
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          memory/4476-1019-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E8000-memory.dmp

          memory/4476-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E8000-memory.dmp