Analysis

  • max time kernel
    148s
  • max time network
    148s
  • platform
    windows11-ltsc_2024_x64
  • resource
    win11ltsc2024-20260710-en
  • resource tags

    arch:x64arch:x86image:win11ltsc2024-20260710-enlocale:en-usos:windows11-ltsc_2024-x64systemwindows
  • submitted
    15/08/2026, 10:22

General

  • Target
    2026-08-15_f80397dac93eee1b63c9bb15bcf4d62b_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
  • Size 1.9MB
  • Sample260815-mebecstfph
  • SHA256 ddba3369d337735348fc1e0c6d301b030e2b526dce74f77fff7a2232ae619dc3
  • 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\2026-08-15_f80397dac93eee1b63c9bb15bcf4d62b_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
    "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-15_f80397dac93eee1b63c9bb15bcf4d62b_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:5484
    • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-15_f80397dac93eee1b63c9bb15bcf4d62b_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp/2026-08-15_f80397dac93eee1b63c9bb15bcf4d62b_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      2⤵
      • Executes dropped EXE
      • Checks whether UAC is enabled
      • System Location Discovery: System Language Discovery
      • Suspicious use of SetWindowsHookEx
      • Suspicious use of WriteProcessMemory
      PID:1680
      • 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:5856
        • 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:3048

Network

        MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v16

        Replay Monitor

        Loading Replay Monitor...

        Downloads

        RdrCEF.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroCEF\RdrCEF.exe
        • Size 10.1MB
        • SHA256 234f74a9cf3ee40a1f26192e7ff5013eb2d2a00cb629e14a2861b31792374a6b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AcroRd32.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe
        • Size 3.2MB
        • SHA256 dd21ebf0f2add44eb109b8528009507be8bb96178f8331d599173d77f8a9ba89
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        Reader_sl.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe
        • Size 836KB
        • SHA256 f1e64e55daa7fd32ccfe9e3bae2e2ada72354ddff3d3e085440da2f9e0a0b1b9
        • 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 bf05c144b400336c3f0ea3d22c7a82c7318bc5069df49601d7f60c5a4812fa04
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        32BitMAPIBroker.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\plug_ins\pi_brokers\32BitMAPIBroker.exe
        • Size 886KB
        • SHA256 3d13f80578a2cb3294ca3e0ce04bacad00465e831dc26dd28a9ee1dd7dd88d87
        • 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 eac6ffbfffed9dbe21b114b6c4a1c0149626026859e2bb7ba278248e5de89b77
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        msedge.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\msedge.exe
        • Size 4.7MB
        • SHA256 69df22956f1e202d68fa304e5f2b77749ae443c5cc9e239dd81feeca0e589c12
        • 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 781286c9d3c7ac7a950c347b42bb7d7855df38f0fe64d7f17a90065dbdf9d636
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        pwahelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
        • Size 2.1MB
        • SHA256 7e3429789638a832c672169dda3d836d957a24cce3e511cfe489539ccbea88b0
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        MicrosoftEdgeUpdateComRegisterShell64.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate_bk\1.3.185.27\MicrosoftEdgeUpdateComRegisterShell64.exe
        • Size 1000KB
        • SHA256 fbe6963c5b3af1e67bc526fd2bbea9a86b52c0136023d3752741a70c853c85f3
        • 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 1.3MB
        • SHA256 52bfe1224d9b4e101da5866d128a0b92a8c574dc635527804b66c6b28b81c1c5
        • 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 297651ba8a6f8f9987aa79f5098c7fd61ba7f432e3157109f0453bd8015642aa
        • 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 888ac52414a4d1c2b1437189aafbfe443c2d8013f75a63b4c77887ff5aaf6015
        • 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 bc7fceb86bf176906c0bddf364dfad5c1e3aea038c803407d0664f90a0597565
        • 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

        7z.exe.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe.exe
        • Size 780KB
        • SHA256 110f6d633d9610010a11df8727d38cf82b78359cf72764f4b5d09b3ed21804e1
        • 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 1.6MB
        • SHA256 2f5df3bfa2e6b5061420c0d87d87721d2dda65da7bc6202d6b02d5531aaaf68a
        • 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 9beb62954f3c11ae0bc823a9ff29073da2fade370b0f8d2d3595380e76b7dd0c
        • 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

        AdobeARMHelper.exe.ico

        • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\2816\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

        vcredist_x86.exe

        • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{33d1fd90-4274-48a1-9bc1-97e33d9c2d6f}\vcredist_x86.exe
        • Size 1.2MB
        • SHA256 5dda39343bf604fe53babc189f401233737514660b3e2864b968511205839d57
        • 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-6.0.27-win-x64.exe

        • Path C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{d87ae0f4-64a6-4b94-859a-530b9c313c27}\windowsdesktop-runtime-6.0.27-win-x64.exe
        • Size 1.4MB
        • SHA256 40249a34c95ef2ca311c56ddf84078a65c57a7a1ffba4d65dcf29eb3df709dcf
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        FileSyncConfig.exe

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDrive\18.151.0729.0013\FileSyncConfig.exe
        • Size 1.0MB
        • SHA256 a9c8ccc810401887854207c3d2a81c2b980fb362fc1ab7143de4c1ebacdc48c1
        • 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

        2026-08-15_f80397dac93eee1b63c9bb15bcf4d62b_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-15_f80397dac93eee1b63c9bb15bcf4d62b_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
        • Size 1.1MB
        • SHA256 7514b819158deff6398b4aa9d0d1b8f1323914e1c63949174f1f07666528b44a
        • 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

        Tmp562.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp562.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 19fe53c801ad7edc635f61e9e28d07da31780c2480e6f37ecfc63fffe1b250fe
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        Tmp582.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp582.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 dcc9d2695125406282ba990fec39403c44b12964acf51b5e0dc7f2080d714398
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        TmpD25A.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpD25A.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 ff9b4cf04e3202f150f19c1711767361343935da7841c98b876c42fd2cabce9b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        memory/5484-913-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E5000-memory.dmp

        memory/5484-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E5000-memory.dmp

        memory/5856-2740-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E6000-memory.dmp

        memory/5856-2733-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E6000-memory.dmp