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
    18/08/2026, 20:05

General

  • Target
    2026-08-18_c2caed9ee8c93e8942b60bb41ba775e1_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
  • Size 1.9MB
  • Sample260818-yvb7dabb27
  • SHA256 99ca51ce83079842fde31743370d83ec3246412c042ce88f01f19679e4a13539
  • 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\2026-08-18_c2caed9ee8c93e8942b60bb41ba775e1_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe
    "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-18_c2caed9ee8c93e8942b60bb41ba775e1_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:3468
    • C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-18_c2caed9ee8c93e8942b60bb41ba775e1_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
      C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp/2026-08-18_c2caed9ee8c93e8942b60bb41ba775e1_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:4184
      • 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:4592

    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 884KB
          • SHA256 930b6f4f9a2f02da5578dce7c6e89a5149e655775d63da9e83885458f4b6a2a0
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\DisabledGoogleUpdate.exe
          • Size 6.5MB
          • SHA256 d052ffcd8cbc135617b0d9ad2423d1c19e1fcdd678b8c9653316586cc9ab7e99
          • 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 a6e427b79768dc5167a72d24981fa27ac25d8d18e1cdbbaab8a4ab539da817a5
          • 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 117ea9fcc377e810d09703d2ad6d8fd631b74e0f540308797541e25811dd896e
          • 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 22bfef54c44f391e76b2e4b02e87bfdec2854c61986907da81446160b51632c0
          • 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 9a3dff2793376617ff28d84e35d584d0660c98eedd0c1547f45568a95e82bb5d
          • 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 fcd31440e622c0ef26c098921a710ebe1379cdee1715c8b1e6f90a457557494e
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeCore\139.0.3405.125\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.2MB
          • SHA256 19586cb3474f271f4b0ba521468c18f1c3e883abcb6a39f9c3bf9955793711c3
          • 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 898KB
          • SHA256 347ae5ee8597545c16a77c80dd80a3933af8b94c5e3e0a4202c950e47b4496a4
          • 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 c1e277e833777e424027e7583c366e47a260dcd4ef383b89c01d44e8cfb668d2
          • 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 f954dc9ebe017da695b05a914578fd35877b132f10c84e0c21cd7fe608c10562
          • 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 3482413799bc94235933330a02fa2ed6676da10e60c8d667120bc9d826ac5954
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          pwahelper.exe

          • Path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\pwahelper.exe
          • Size 2.2MB
          • SHA256 48068815093eac3246360140585ff223f14b10b470021cb7df7edb76b33f667e
          • 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

          RCX8364.tmp

          • Path C:\Program Files\7-Zip\RCX8364.tmp
          • Size 796KB
          • SHA256 af91b7e4a3a578bbce0c8d4c117e55f393c39368cc16153524d5c4914ddafcb2
          • 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 879KB
          • SHA256 17abc9bdcf3042de05670adf684b5f312c323b3eea7c55451f3c21b03aadd326
          • 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 634B
          • SHA256 4f9b2f699943dc7a42321fde879d884202e9b3bd8391519cc69bd83d8d485aae
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          ArmReport.ini

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\ArmReport.ini
          • Size 782B
          • SHA256 8395f93b0e0240f5c79ce70bc2257f9cb0d92227b15f7724ba65b1c5c0b19625
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          AdobeARMHelper.exe

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\13349\AdobeARMHelper.exe
          • Size 413KB
          • SHA256 fd115ae8ebd2f37cf1ef72f75242206cf1331c7cb258305011302e981137ee5e
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          AdobeARMHelper.exe.ico

          • Path C:\ProgramData\Adobe\ARM\S\13349\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 2d85f0378f7744e6656afd2b9009bf9e441f78e2393559e457513fe4447b8916
          • 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 b829903c7c947a64e3178d4f98ac42bc80aa983f878febf87854b1638d23049f
          • 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 1f9767ad57bd8fa6bac12a5daac14c7cc109bb76afd60ab8e60bdedb494a6639
          • 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 2.4MB
          • SHA256 7bfc0d2556d74a9e28981a08d0fddc625a58827bad86011aef7c61311e50c94f
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          iconcache_idx.db

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
          • Size 56KB
          • SHA256 9e90c0861ab6768c0a529cf69c1cbdd0316995407879ebc15fe30d881431f06f
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 SSDEEP TLSH

          2026-08-18_c2caed9ee8c93e8942b60bb41ba775e1_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\2026-08-18_c2caed9ee8c93e8942b60bb41ba775e1_amadey_darkgate_elex_smoke-loader_stop.exe.exe
          • Size 1.1MB
          • SHA256 a62ef96d1c17e4fe31eef4caf63ca52df56d129c842184943fe3caebcc492137
          • 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

          TmpBAFE.tmp

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

          TmpEBC4.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpEBC4.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 19fe53c801ad7edc635f61e9e28d07da31780c2480e6f37ecfc63fffe1b250fe
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          TmpEBE5.tmp

          • Path C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp\TmpEBE5.tmp
          • Size 3KB
          • SHA256 dcc9d2695125406282ba990fec39403c44b12964acf51b5e0dc7f2080d714398
          • MD5 SHA1 SHA512 TLSH

          memory/3468-972-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E9000-memory.dmp

          memory/3468-0-0x0000000000400000-0x00000000004E9000-memory.dmp