Lynx Ransomware Payload Injecting Code And Bypassing Security Controls


Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report

A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2026-01-09 15:10:01 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
m9qxl08.exe
Type
Win32 Dynamic Link Library (generic)
SHA‑1
8fcd183bf660dcbd31c5715cebfd5b0e5ef7b2d4
MD5
93d9e9740dafb4f9bf4003c5c9da01f8
First Seen
2026-01-08 13:00:55.607815
Last Analysis
2026-01-08 13:06:37.905976
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Extended Dwell Time Impact

For 5+ minutes, this malware was rapidly detected — demonstrating excellent security controls that intercepted the threat during initial execution phases, severely limiting adversary capabilities.

Comparative Context

Industry studies report a median dwell time closer to 21–24 days. This case represents extremely rapid detection within minutes.

Timeline

Time (UTC) Event Elapsed
2025-12-05 06:57:10 UTC First VirusTotal submission
2026-01-09 14:20:17 UTC Latest analysis snapshot 35 days, 7 hours, 23 minutes
2026-01-09 15:10:01 UTC Report generation time 35 days, 8 hours, 12 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: 71. Detected as malicious: 46. Missed: 25. Coverage: 64.8%.

Detected Vendors

  • Xcitium
  • +45 additional vendors (names not provided)

List includes Xcitium plus an additional 45 vendors per the provided summary.

Missed Vendors

  • Acronis
  • Antiy-AVL
  • APEX
  • Baidu
  • Bkav
  • CAT-QuickHeal
  • CMC
  • DrWeb
  • google_safebrowsing
  • Gridinsoft
  • huorong
  • Jiangmin
  • K7AntiVirus
  • K7GW
  • Panda
  • SUPERAntiSpyware
  • TACHYON
  • tehtris
  • Tencent
  • TrendMicro
  • VBA32
  • VirIT
  • Webroot
  • ZoneAlarm
  • Zoner

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.

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

  • T1562 – Tries to unhook or modify Windows functions monitored by CAPE
  • T1562.001 – Tries to unhook or modify Windows functions monitored by CAPE
  • T1027 – The binary contains an unknown PE section name indicative of packing
  • T1027.002 – The binary contains an unknown PE section name indicative of packing
  • T1539 – Touches a file containing cookies, possibly for information gathering
  • T1082 – Checks available memory
  • T1071 – Binary file triggered YARA rule
  • T1071 – Terminates another process

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.msftncsi.com 23.44.129.57 United States Akamai Technologies, Inc.

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
www.msftncsi.com A
5isohu.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 5 udp
53 4 udp
3702 1 udp

UDP Packets

Source IP Dest IP Sport Dport Time Proto
192.168.56.11 192.168.56.255 137 137 3.242751121520996 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 49563 5355 3.1708240509033203 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 54650 5355 3.172983169555664 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 55601 5355 4.233630180358887 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 60205 5355 3.181411027908325 udp
192.168.56.11 224.0.0.252 62798 5355 5.736124038696289 udp
192.168.56.11 239.255.255.250 62184 3702 3.178654193878174 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51690 53 6.8024091720581055 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.4.4 51899 53 5.742282152175903 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51690 53 7.7889862060546875 udp
192.168.56.11 8.8.8.8 51899 53 6.742180109024048 udp

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

Persistence & Policy — Registry and Services

Registry and service telemetry points to policy awareness and environment reconnaissance rather than noisy persistence. Below is a compact view of the most relevant keys and handles; expand to see the full lists where available.

Registry Opened

101

Registry Set

0

Services Started

3

Services Opened

2

Registry Opened (Top 25)

Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\CallForAttributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\FolderValueFlags
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesMyComputer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\MonitorRegistry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoCommonGroups
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoInternetIcon
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\UseLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicyDefaultValue
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\FolderValueFlags
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SessionInfo\1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\Interface\{4278CCC0-8710-543A-9036-F37DA6245536}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\InprocHandler32
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\ErrorDialog
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\DelegateFolders
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoSetFolders
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SessionInfo\1\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\OnlyUseLatestCLR
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters\RpcCacheTimeout
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\Interface\{4278CCC0-8710-543A-9036-F37DA6245536}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\TreatAs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\Fod
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\InprocHandler
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\RestrictedAttributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesMyComputer
Show all (101 total)
Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoInternetIcon
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework\Advertised
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesRecycleBin
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoSetFolders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\InstallRoot
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\StorageDelegateSuppressionPolicy
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\LocalServer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\ValidateRegItems
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\CallForAttributes
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\RestrictedAttributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\LocalServer32
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\Elevation
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\AppID
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsSystemLauncherTestHooks
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesRecycleBin
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Security_HKLM_only
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\CallForAttributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellCompatibility\Applications\software.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\RestrictedAttributes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\ActivateOnHostFlags
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SessionInfo\1\Desktop\NameSpace
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{4278CCC0-8710-543A-9036-F37DA6245536}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\FolderValueFlags
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoCommonGroups
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\StorageDelegate
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder

Registry Set (Top 25)

Services Started (Top 15)

Service
lfsvc
WSearch
BITS

Services Opened (Top 15)

Service
VaultSvc
clipsvc

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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