Embedded Serialization and Zip Handling Signal Multi-Stage Freeware Payload Design

  • February 17, 2026
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Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report

A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2026-02-17 15:25:01 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
ebsdd7w0f.exe
Type
Generic CIL Executable (.NET, Mono, etc.)
SHA‑1
17115e578fec36e5c05457e5d31c3ae2df33ea18
MD5
019a7723fa57c1d719d4cbc80de28747
First Seen
2026-02-17 08:33:47.962433
Last Analysis
2026-02-17 13:42:47.511302
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Extended Dwell Time Impact

For 5+ 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
2025-11-20 14:59:07 UTC First VirusTotal submission
2026-02-17 14:33:59 UTC Latest analysis snapshot 88 days, 23 hours, 34 minutes
2026-02-17 15:25:01 UTC Report generation time 89 days, 0 hours, 25 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: 72. Detected as malicious: 5. Missed: 67. Coverage: 6.9%.

Detected Vendors

  • Xcitium
  • +4 additional vendors (names not provided)

List includes Xcitium plus an additional 4 vendors per the provided summary.

Missed Vendors

  • Acronis
  • AhnLab-V3
  • Alibaba
  • alibabacloud
  • ALYac
  • Antiy-AVL
  • APEX
  • Arcabit
  • Avira
  • Baidu
  • BitDefender
  • CAT-QuickHeal
  • ClamAV
  • CMC
  • CTX
  • Cylance
  • Cynet
  • DeepInstinct
  • DrWeb
  • Elastic
  • Emsisoft
  • F-Secure
  • Fortinet
  • GData
  • Google
  • google_safebrowsing
  • Gridinsoft
  • huorong
  • Ikarus
  • Jiangmin
  • K7AntiVirus
  • K7GW
  • Kaspersky
  • Kingsoft
  • Lionic
  • Malwarebytes
  • MaxSecure
  • McAfeeD
  • Microsoft
  • MicroWorld-eScan
  • NANO-Antivirus
  • Paloalto
  • Panda
  • Rising
  • Sangfor
  • SentinelOne
  • Skyhigh
  • Sophos
  • SUPERAntiSpyware
  • TACHYON
  • tehtris
  • Tencent
  • Trapmine
  • TrellixENS
  • TrendMicro
  • TrendMicro-HouseCall
  • Varist
  • VBA32
  • VIPRE
  • VirIT
  • ViRobot
  • Webroot
  • Xcitium
  • Yandex
  • Zillya
  • 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

  • T1140 – extract zip archive in .NET
  • T1012 – query or enumerate registry value
  • T1140 – decode data using Base64 in .NET
  • T1033 – get session user name
  • T1087 – get session user name
  • T1083 – check if file exists
  • T1083 – check if directory exists
  • T1057 – enumerate processes
  • T1518 – enumerate processes
  • T1027 – reference Base64 string
  • T1012 – query or enumerate registry key
  • T1083 – get common file path
  • T1539 – Touches a file containing cookies, possibly for information gathering
  • T1562 – Tries to unhook or modify Windows functions monitored by CAPE
  • T1070.006 – Binary compilation timestomping detected
  • T1070 – Binary compilation timestomping detected
  • T1562.001 – Tries to unhook or modify Windows functions monitored by CAPE
  • T1027 – The binary likely contains encrypted or compressed data
  • T1027.002 – The binary likely contains encrypted or compressed data
  • T1082 – Checks available memory
  • 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.

Observed IPs

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

DNS Queries

Request Type
5isohu.com A

Contacted IPs

IP Country ASN/Org
224.0.0.252
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 2 udp

UDP Packets

Source IP Dest IP Sport Dport Time Proto
192.168.56.14 192.168.56.255 137 137 3.082082986831665 udp
192.168.56.14 224.0.0.252 51209 5355 3.0166749954223633 udp
192.168.56.14 224.0.0.252 53401 5355 4.33281397819519 udp
192.168.56.14 224.0.0.252 55094 5355 5.578886985778809 udp
192.168.56.14 224.0.0.252 55848 5355 3.019972085952759 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 52815 53 6.9460060596466064 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 52815 53 7.937831163406372 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

1

Registry Opened (Top 25)

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

Registry Set (Top 25)

Services Started (Top 15)

Service
lfsvc
WSearch
BITS

Services Opened (Top 15)

Service
VaultSvc

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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