Analysis

  • max time kernel
    149s
  • max time network
    148s
  • platform
    windows10-2004_x64
  • resource
    win10v2004-20260513-en
  • resource tags

    arch:x64arch:x86image:win10v2004-20260513-enlocale:en-usos:windows10-2004-x64systemwindows
  • submitted
    18/08/2026, 16:35

General

  • Target
    2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
  • Size 1.9MB
  • Sample260818-t3x2ladr21
  • SHA256 2437a0a77e2b7fd49314af6168fb8c0e6f47d9f5151ae281a818dc1d4b0a112e
  • 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\2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
    "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_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:880
    • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp/2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_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:5084
      • 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:2340
        • 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:4672

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 65e8744d0cac9e7a4750712ecad33002aea6a748539f29b1348b61f10d445b44
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AcroRd32.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe
        • Size 3.2MB
        • SHA256 820874f54fb75281dbd330bd2bc076a938785c5c84b23d3f25b10f4727e51c61
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        Reader_sl.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Reader_sl.exe
        • Size 848KB
        • SHA256 5bad0bf984a0e355e20aab38932132b9ebdb15c101121059570e3c2d0273f3ed
        • 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 54d7e267bdecd987a4b37b6a05caa7193914a0b37122bb49e2895060ee46d484
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        arh.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\arh.exe
        • Size 880KB
        • SHA256 0b7204736b67b146abe3391260afcdec2b3bf22cd40bcfa4500e4db8bf634f92
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        32BitMAPIBroker.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\plug_ins\pi_brokers\32BitMAPIBroker.exe
        • Size 898KB
        • SHA256 11997b64f8cd3ff62fd2687a29411684192a645bede9139a63baf49fe74dc46e
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        AdobeARMHelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARMHelper.exe
        • Size 1.2MB
        • SHA256 d9e82bca0607534876aff06475610e3a0343976e1a477b468b2bb69ef13c3ab1
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe
        • Size 6.5MB
        • SHA256 6449800f8424daec5be99f32c6454d9fd117342d8f5bb96bf573a24595806e30
        • 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 6be3095444d28cff87d1bffc4de3f3ae7f91687ccb274f3a9df77b32c8013098
        • 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 d521eb824a2189227451840a74bb61808a5b2bb3da66c701134a756f68992405
        • 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 17bdb7b155aa4cbba7120d8adbdc88a21b20671c1afba436118d97281e54e972
        • 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 98d48f14ea278d52dc696f3829d13990bd675204347fdffe91d5c0f3823f3294
        • 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 5a7c050aac1fae71dfacb14ef2a15743e7ee2a4c7f1656b362a9fe968e0d5e27
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        pwahelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
        • Size 2.2MB
        • SHA256 5af3eaa157960a5268ba158d35991ac473e3d966961b564dae37872a3a4d8946
        • 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 b655e59e208a838481f01b58f2d8fad75049771d27939cc25a7986fdbd834855
        • 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 d44601710e12405008135a80b9097dc5d84184bbb8cb74d2fa84ffbc34e82323
        • 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 2468cc12f85e494362021b907562ff60f4af70f0c7cf3c23388671b79b3f1b36
        • 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 185da19abfca84a64ab0b8dd7f5b3fb189d2ac0422b1f56c71ac52c38455a61e
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        pwahelper.exe

        • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\pwahelper.exe
        • Size 2.2MB
        • SHA256 298f5a0522e9a1de12c1976754f2a64fc99f9fe16bf627b6144e76f50e9785d0
        • 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

        RCX623F.tmp

        • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\RCX623F.tmp
        • Size 792KB
        • SHA256 027273091848a519256d6400d837854f3fb464124f6cfcd50b92b15e2a00d71d
        • 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 0d4355b723c7d626391c6e870e768f53f23142c526b7093cfcb1caca6385e7df
        • 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 beba1da141e17dc9ca0362abd11609410b9e94ca1a097fa07adb5672d7fbfc5d
        • 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 45071a242562637ac2e855c907cb7f0195797f03ffad44b002087fcb21946002
        • 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 6ea74927285208e34fa54088bd3946d06ed2f51d6e2426bcd1d8cf9419debbe3
        • 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 9194cc6d6c69e28240d5a3e4ead85f8a676fabb99869900fb4bc5d8eb7fc0f44
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
        • Size 1.1MB
        • SHA256 4b074e06adcb11b5f66409a68b52bd53816a00dd7ab4a1828c2cc5706aea9acc
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

        2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe.ico

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-18_e4d5858dd6e415c7acc645bea45d09e7_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

        Tmp9B41.tmp

        • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\Tmp9B41.tmp
        • Size 3KB
        • SHA256 ff9b4cf04e3202f150f19c1711767361343935da7841c98b876c42fd2cabce9b
        • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

        TmpEFEB.tmp

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

        memory/880-1197-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E8000-memory.dmp

        memory/880-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E8000-memory.dmp

        memory/2340-3415-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E9000-memory.dmp

        memory/2340-3406-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E9000-memory.dmp