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
    15/08/2026, 03:40

General

  • Target
    2026-08-15_77751625491887831ea78089f129fcca_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
  • Size 1.9MB
  • Sample260815-d8cpvadf67
  • SHA256 0fb1e2490cf4fb9b1522ea913ae23dbe9c5d0380090909cf85976a59b1848b0f
  • 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\2026-08-15_77751625491887831ea78089f129fcca_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
    "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-15_77751625491887831ea78089f129fcca_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:2964
    • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-15_77751625491887831ea78089f129fcca_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp/2026-08-15_77751625491887831ea78089f129fcca_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:3796
      • 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:4664

    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 864KB
          • SHA256 f8a0d3498a8f21e8d28fb63a4c114d0b475ecba0a77fb31b26dd1493aa72492c
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe
          • Size 6.4MB
          • SHA256 41a0bca29da2b3f38c531f99e39aa4f03ddd19ac6c17f208a98b4e0f3767c872
          • 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 4af181a0bc10b868151a6ad70e95bdd6aa07b8d26b63f6b43a992bcfafaccb8e
          • 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 97f83e3a234b94368b3ea5579da5e21fc54e3c3aa93056b1190017097ca3b696
          • 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 2a49b6e65110b2e84ef7a1e5e266d0d7561657ac00fdc04c1728436a038d3bb1
          • 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 3499f6376fbe71515e0c8e39b475eac28cf8c9305bdbbcd834d7c15769f8c486
          • 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 77dfaadb6cb596147b81e21b7600b2823e3b626bef1fdad74991ed7b0a9b01b2
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.1MB
          • SHA256 29993876db94b5a10f9541056493e439d634e7cd0c5f10ee2b4ffc740376a712
          • 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 878KB
          • SHA256 8f3776da5a911b706b693776f8614c256d576ac5c719475298404cb62b5e8dc5
          • 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 5efcd96558b5983786783c90d7d4e301cf47a508729923a23e47ffa98e358bec
          • 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 e8bfdbdae91a380939941f1003c2c952d944c8d6f0d35156dd687d82b9f60208
          • 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 ef72dcc200ca901948b9c32d0f23453d153fbbf1aa549615df404223de7d1e31
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.1MB
          • SHA256 b1bb90e34f69b989b97390540f34c91fb17fab7e312f960cc0328dd20488dba2
          • 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

          RCXAA54.tmp

          • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\RCXAA54.tmp
          • Size 776KB
          • SHA256 34ebcd9dc367e0f9c9c4b5775e3b5519fc4e53ec84c46c7d4299088546ea7bb1
          • 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 859KB
          • SHA256 755231503340f564fd7b2660ef26081516dc6b6a4f0bfb27afe10318563cd1f5
          • 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\22361\AdobeARMHelper.exe
          • Size 413KB
          • SHA256 fd115ae8ebd2f37cf1ef72f75242206cf1331c7cb258305011302e981137ee5e
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          AdobeARMHelper.exe.ico

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\22361\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 744d634a6b7e588fe85bf37480caba7a298c581655e907b0c044e3a0711e856b
          • 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 0c0f7e735f5b5e1322a6276df292590c7872fd1c6e06bb75eb6a485e47477bde
          • 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 31fa8250192c5a00a96526a223468fa7f7748748ad53cb1f4e7490a3bd0434ce
          • 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 ae54f523f5e5a69151c469415484378859e67c557c4f40b87f85b7dcdc218a10
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          iconcache_idx.db

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
          • Size 56KB
          • SHA256 88a4f836779f45628a2d268ed044781a267e0281925779f2af169e88fc0fc316
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          2026-08-15_77751625491887831ea78089f129fcca_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-15_77751625491887831ea78089f129fcca_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
          • Size 1.1MB
          • SHA256 eafff9e80d7eeb9706dc7b27dd191fb91dd1d6de1f1b15b1e61a7976379400e2
          • 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

          TmpD37.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpD37.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 19fe53c801ad7edc635f61e9e28d07da31780c2480e6f37ecfc63fffe1b250fe
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          TmpD57.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpD57.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 dcc9d2695125406282ba990fec39403c44b12964acf51b5e0dc7f2080d714398
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          TmpE143.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpE143.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 ff9b4cf04e3202f150f19c1711767361343935da7841c98b876c42fd2cabce9b
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          memory/2964-1087-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E4000-memory.dmp

          memory/2964-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E4000-memory.dmp