Overlay EXE Fetcher Installs CryptoLocker and Modifies Autorun Keys


Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report

A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2025-11-14 22:21:37 UTC

Executive Overview — What We’re Dealing With

This specimen has persisted long enough to matter. Human experts classified it as Malware, and the telemetry confirms a capable, evasive Trojan with real impact potential.

File
gewos.exe
Type
PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows
SHA‑1
97f318d2979fd9f8278b700ab960f5fc55f60f8d
MD5
cc269fe9bbe258f7624418d42ec427cc
First Seen
2025-10-06 08:36:47.787812
Last Analysis
2025-10-06 13:34:33.724849
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Extended Dwell Time Impact

For 4+ hours, this malware remained undetected — a limited but sufficient window for the adversary to complete initial execution and establish basic system access.

Comparative Context

Industry studies report a median dwell time closer to 21–24 days. This case represents rapid detection and containment within hours rather than days.

Timeline

Time (UTC) Event Elapsed
2025-10-06 00:49:32 UTC First VirusTotal submission
2025-10-08 14:02:56 UTC Latest analysis snapshot 2 days, 13 hours, 13 minutes
2025-11-14 22:21:37 UTC Report generation time 30 days, 6 hours, 32 minutes

Why It Matters

Every additional day of dwell time is not just an abstract number — it is attacker opportunity. Each day equates to more time for lateral movement, stealth persistence, and intelligence gathering.

Global Detection Posture — Who Caught It, Who Missed It

VirusTotal engines: 73. Detected as malicious: 66. Missed: 7. Coverage: 90.4%.

Detected Vendors

  • Xcitium
  • +65 additional vendors (names not provided)

List includes Xcitium plus an additional 65 vendors per the provided summary.

Missed Vendors

  • Acronis
  • CMC
  • Paloalto
  • TACHYON
  • tehtris
  • TrendMicro
  • Yandex

Why it matters: if any endpoint relies solely on a missed engine, this malware can operate with zero alerts. Prevention‑first controls close that gap regardless of signature lag.

Behavioral Storyline — How the Malware Operates

Dominant system-level operations (53.36% of behavior) suggest this malware performs deep system reconnaissance, privilege escalation, or core OS manipulation. It’s actively probing system defenses and attempting to gain administrative control.

Behavior Categories (weighted)

Weight values represent the frequency and intensity of malware interactions with specific system components. Higher weights indicate more aggressive targeting of that category. Each operation (registry access, file modification, network connection, etc.) contributes to the category’s total weight, providing a quantitative measure of the malware’s behavioral focus.

Category Weight Percentage
System 739 53.36%
File System 269 19.42%
Registry 266 19.21%
Process 47 3.39%
Device 22 1.59%
Windows 13 0.94%
Misc 10 0.72%
Synchronization 8 0.58%
Com 6 0.43%
Threading 4 0.29%
Hooking 1 0.07%

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

  • T1564.003 – hide graphical window
  • T1027 – encrypt data using RC4 PRGA
  • T1059 – accept command line arguments

Following the Trail — Network & DNS Activity

Outbound activity leans on reputable infrastructure (e.g., CDNs, cloud endpoints) to blend in. TLS sessions and
HTTP calls show routine beaconing and IP‑lookup behavior that can masquerade as normal browsing.

Contacted Domains

Domain IP Country ASN/Org
www.aieov.com 76.223.54.146 United States Amazon.com, Inc.
www.msftncsi.com 2.18.67.81 Europe Akamai Technologies

Observed IPs

IP Country ASN/Org
224.0.0.252
239.255.255.250
8.8.4.4 United States Google LLC
8.8.8.8 United States Google LLC

DNS Queries

Request Type
5isohu.com A
www.msftncsi.com A
www.aieov.com A

Contacted IPs

IP Country ASN/Org
224.0.0.252
239.255.255.250
8.8.4.4 United States Google LLC
8.8.8.8 United States Google LLC

Port Distribution

Port Count Protocols
137 1 udp
5355 4 udp
53 28 udp
3702 1 udp

UDP Packets

Source IP Dest IP Sport Dport Time Proto
192.168.56.11 192.168.56.255 137 137 7.223637104034424 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 54650 5355 7.27307915687561 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 55601 5355 7.614668130874634 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 60205 5355 7.46592116355896 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 62798 5355 10.239619970321655 udp
192.168.56.11 239.255.255.250 62184 3702 8.144623041152954 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 49563 53 7.272917032241821 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51628 53 135.3792850971222 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51663 53 196.9575080871582 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51690 53 26.644567012786865 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51899 53 10.274481058120728 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 56213 53 55.48845195770264 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 56473 53 120.9889931678772 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 58917 53 102.69203996658325 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 59770 53 73.80129909515381 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 60334 53 149.80256414413452 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 61507 53 168.11375617980957 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 62120 53 182.51967215538025 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 62329 53 88.25470519065857 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 63439 53 41.02041506767273 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 49563 53 8.269864082336426 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51628 53 134.37976908683777 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51663 53 195.9582359790802 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51690 53 25.645687103271484 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51899 53 11.270051002502441 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 56213 53 54.48950505256653 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 56473 53 119.98952102661133 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 58917 53 101.69374513626099 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 59770 53 72.80164098739624 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 60334 53 148.80147695541382 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 61507 53 167.11373805999756 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 62120 53 181.51979804039001 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 62329 53 87.25449013710022 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 63439 53 40.02019500732422 udp

Hunting tip: alert on unknown binaries initiating TLS to IP‑lookup services or unusual CDN endpoints — especially early in execution.

What To Do Now — Practical Defense Playbook

  • Contain unknowns: block first‑run binaries by default — signatures catch up, containment works now.
  • EDR controls: alert on keyboard hooks, screen capture APIs, VM/sandbox checks, and command‑shell launches.
  • Registry watch: flag queries/sets under policy paths (e.g., …\FipsAlgorithmPolicy\*).
  • Network rules: inspect outbound TLS to IP‑lookup services and unexpected CDN endpoints.
  • Hunt broadly: sweep endpoints for the indicators above and quarantine positives immediately.

Dwell time equals attacker opportunity. Reducing execution privileges and egress shrinks that window even when vendors disagree.

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