QilinLoader Payload Emerges With 5MB Packed Binary and Stealthy Injector Behavior


Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report

A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2025-11-20 08:37:20 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
9164pe.exe
Type
Win32 Executable MS Visual C++ (generic)
SHA‑1
a460a1cab87b40628f782d0aab45c9425e817765
MD5
9394e505be0e7a274cd7431abd53aef1
First Seen
2025-11-14 19:59:52.007665
Last Analysis
2025-11-15 20:48:18.987839
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Extended Dwell Time Impact

For 1+ days, this malware remained undetected — a brief but concerning window that permitted the adversary to establish initial foothold, perform basic system enumeration, and potentially access immediate system resources.

Comparative Context

Industry studies report a median dwell time closer to 21–24 days. This case is significantly below that median, suggesting relatively quick detection.

Timeline

Time (UTC) Event Elapsed
2025-08-22 18:37:28 UTC First VirusTotal submission
2025-11-19 12:47:38 UTC Latest analysis snapshot 88 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes
2025-11-20 08:37:20 UTC Report generation time 89 days, 13 hours, 59 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: 59. Missed: 14. Coverage: 80.8%.

Detected Vendors

  • Xcitium
  • +58 additional vendors (names not provided)

List includes Xcitium plus an additional 58 vendors per the provided summary.

Missed Vendors

  • Acronis
  • Baidu
  • CMC
  • google_safebrowsing
  • Gridinsoft
  • SentinelOne
  • SUPERAntiSpyware
  • TACHYON
  • tehtris
  • Trapmine
  • TrendMicro
  • VirIT
  • Yandex
  • 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.

Behavioral Storyline — How the Malware Operates

Dominant system-level operations (87.82% 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 310 87.82%
Process 15 4.25%
File System 14 3.97%
Device 6 1.70%
Misc 4 1.13%
Hooking 2 0.57%
Registry 2 0.57%

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

  • T1027 – encrypt data using RC4 PRGA
  • T1083 – get common file path
  • T1129 – link many functions at runtime
  • T1059 – accept command line arguments
  • T1057 – enumerate process modules
  • T1027 – encrypt data using speck
  • T1129 – link function at runtime on Windows
  • T1129 – parse PE header
  • T1027 – encode data using Base64
  • T1082 – get system information on Windows
  • T1027 – encode data using XOR

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 23.200.3.27 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
138 1 udp
5355 5 udp
53 4 udp
3702 1 udp

UDP Packets

Source IP Dest IP Sport Dport Time Proto
192.168.56.13 192.168.56.255 137 137 3.2425198554992676 udp
192.168.56.13 192.168.56.255 138 138 9.289584875106812 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 49311 5355 5.742848873138428 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 55150 5355 3.174919843673706 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 60010 5355 5.371393918991089 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 62406 5355 3.1817948818206787 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 63527 5355 5.197655916213989 udp
192.168.56.13 239.255.255.250 52252 3702 3.187001943588257 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.4.4 54879 53 8.054648876190186 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.4.4 54881 53 7.836287021636963 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.8.8 54879 53 9.054466962814331 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.8.8 54881 53 8.836038827896118 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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