Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report
A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2026-02-25 17:37:51 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
72qh9t.exe
Type
Generic CIL Executable (.NET, Mono, etc.)
SHA‑1
b4835122c722b7f07cb6ca79f7fa52563da23d95
MD5
ea4e4e913a1aa8972a64fa5e2c6bcbaa
First Seen
2026-02-25 14:18:16.532726
Last Analysis
2026-02-25 16:15:03.924919
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes
Extended Dwell Time Impact
For 1+ 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-09 15:17:31 UTC | First VirusTotal submission | — |
| 2026-02-25 16:59:26 UTC | Latest analysis snapshot | 78 days, 1 hours, 41 minutes |
| 2026-02-25 17:37:51 UTC | Report generation time | 78 days, 2 hours, 20 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: 47. Missed: 25. Coverage: 65.3%.
Detected Vendors
- Xcitium
- +46 additional vendors (names not provided)
List includes Xcitium plus an additional 46 vendors per the provided summary.
Missed Vendors
- Acronis
- Antiy-AVL
- Avira
- Baidu
- CAT-QuickHeal
- ClamAV
- CMC
- Cynet
- DeepInstinct
- F-Secure
- google_safebrowsing
- Gridinsoft
- huorong
- Ikarus
- Panda
- SUPERAntiSpyware
- TACHYON
- tehtris
- TrendMicro
- VirIT
- ViRobot
- Xcitium
- Yandex
- 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
- T1083 – check if file exists
- T1059 – accept command line arguments
- T1057 – find process by PID
- T1056.001 – log keystrokes via application hook
- T1562 – Tries to unhook or modify Windows functions monitored by CAPE
- T1562.001 – Tries to unhook or modify Windows functions monitored by CAPE
- T1539 – Touches a file containing cookies, possibly for information gathering
- 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.
Contacted Domains
| Domain | IP | Country | ASN/Org |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.msftncsi.com | 23.200.3.20 | 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 | 4 | 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 | 7.172690153121948 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 224.0.0.252 | 49563 | 5355 | 7.104429006576538 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 224.0.0.252 | 54650 | 5355 | 7.1048290729522705 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 224.0.0.252 | 55601 | 5355 | 9.65766716003418 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 224.0.0.252 | 60205 | 5355 | 7.111114978790283 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 239.255.255.250 | 62184 | 3702 | 7.108922004699707 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 8.8.4.4 | 51899 | 53 | 10.392083168029785 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 8.8.4.4 | 62798 | 53 | 9.673686027526855 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 8.8.8.8 | 51899 | 53 | 11.390839099884033 | udp |
| 192.168.56.11 | 8.8.8.8 | 62798 | 53 | 10.672782182693481 | 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_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\MonitorRegistry |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\TreatAs |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoSetFolders |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoSetFolders |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\StorageDelegate |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellCompatibility\Applications\software.exe |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SessionInfo\1 |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\ValidateRegItems |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\ |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\ |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesRecycleBin |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\RestrictedAttributes |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\Interface\{4278CCC0-8710-543A-9036-F37DA6245536}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default) |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\Interface\{4278CCC0-8710-543A-9036-F37DA6245536}\ProxyStubClsid32 |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesMyComputer |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\FolderValueFlags |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SessionInfo\1\Desktop\NameSpace |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\OnlyUseLatestCLR |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\CallForAttributes |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\SessionInfo\1\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\DelegateFolders |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\StorageDelegateSuppressionPolicy |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\InprocHandler |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\RestrictedAttributes |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoCommonGroups |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoInternetIcon |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{4278CCC0-8710-543A-9036-F37DA6245536} |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\AppID |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341} |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters\RpcCacheTimeout |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
Show all (101 total)
| Key |
|---|
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\FolderValueFlags |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\EnablePunycode |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\Fod |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\UseLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicyDefaultValue |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\RestrictedAttributes |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Security_HKLM_only |
| 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_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesMyComputer |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoInternetIcon |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\InstallRoot |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\FolderValueFlags |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\LocalServer |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsSystemLauncherTestHooks |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D} |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\Attributes |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoCommonGroups |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\ErrorDialog |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\LocalServer32 |
| 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\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\Elevation |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesRecycleBin |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\CallForAttributes |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\InprocHandler32 |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework\Advertised |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder\CallForAttributes |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\CreateUriCacheSize |
| HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{95E15D0A-66E6-93D9-C53C-76E6219D3341}\ActivateOnHostFlags |
| HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\ |
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.