Trojan.Win32.Reconyc Employing Registry Modification and Process Masquerading


Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report

A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2025-11-13 21:20:06 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
erngj.exe
Type
MS-DOS executable, MZ for MS-DOS
SHA‑1
c16e746f3cf7c3d15d62729da88b4df74582f7d9
MD5
fcee85fb9b718b2d9ca262f9585fd8e2
First Seen
2025-10-05 20:39:55.883745
Last Analysis
2025-10-06 12:55:12.629597
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Extended Dwell Time Impact

For 16+ hours, this malware remained undetected — a half-day window that permitted the adversary to complete initial execution, establish basic persistence, and perform initial system enumeration.

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
2025-10-02 18:29:56 UTC First VirusTotal submission
2025-10-08 14:12:03 UTC Latest analysis snapshot 5 days, 19 hours, 42 minutes
2025-11-13 21:20:06 UTC Report generation time 33 days, 12 hours, 50 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: 64. Missed: 8. Coverage: 88.9%.

Detected Vendors

  • Xcitium
  • +63 additional vendors (names not provided)

List includes Xcitium plus an additional 63 vendors per the provided summary.

Missed Vendors

  • Acronis
  • Baidu
  • CMC
  • SUPERAntiSpyware
  • TACHYON
  • TrendMicro
  • Webroot
  • 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

Significant process manipulation (93.91% of behavior) suggests code injection, process hollowing, or privilege escalation techniques. The malware is actively compromising running processes to hide its activities.

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
Process 853112 93.91%
System 34463 3.79%
Threading 15103 1.66%
File System 2064 0.23%
Registry 1937 0.21%
Misc 1345 0.15%
Device 141 0.02%
Com 116 0.01%
Windows 68 0.01%
Synchronization 57 0.01%
Crypto 29 0.00%
Hooking 13 0.00%
Network 8 0.00%
Services 4 0.00%

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

  • 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.aieov.com 13.248.169.48 United States Amazon Technologies Inc.

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
www.aieov.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 3 udp
53 48 udp

UDP Packets

Source IP Dest IP Sport Dport Time Proto
192.168.56.14 192.168.56.255 137 137 6.648605108261108 udp
192.168.56.14 224.0.0.252 51209 5355 7.144500017166138 udp
192.168.56.14 224.0.0.252 53401 5355 8.890877962112427 udp
192.168.56.14 224.0.0.252 55848 5355 8.655842065811157 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 49916 53 117.60946297645569 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 50180 53 164.7497580051422 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 50710 53 84.95308303833008 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 50870 53 335.1562559604645 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 50914 53 258.8744909763336 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 51262 53 320.8441479206085 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 52815 53 27.093410968780518 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 53449 53 363.96840596199036 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 54579 53 70.5474009513855 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 54683 53 211.7654368877411 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 55094 53 11.215698957443237 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 55827 53 273.29641795158386 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 55914 53 150.34382510185242 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 56399 53 197.39078903198242 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 59068 53 349.5935559272766 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 60117 53 103.23446106910706 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 60713 53 291.984512090683 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 62022 53 179.1247808933258 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 62112 53 56.15692496299744 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 62548 53 244.4381139278412 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 62800 53 306.3909649848938 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 63205 53 226.18682193756104 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 64753 53 132.06226205825806 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.4.4 65148 53 41.45283794403076 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 49916 53 116.6113669872284 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 50180 53 163.76428198814392 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 50710 53 83.95664310455322 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 50870 53 334.165020942688 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 50914 53 257.88590002059937 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 51262 53 319.8559329509735 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 52815 53 26.100790977478027 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 53449 53 362.983864068985 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 54579 53 69.55105304718018 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 54683 53 210.77147507667542 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 55094 53 12.203125953674316 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 55827 53 272.3029029369354 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 55914 53 149.34767389297485 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 56399 53 196.40341806411743 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 59068 53 348.6072270870209 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 60117 53 102.23505091667175 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 60713 53 290.98687505722046 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 62022 53 178.13541102409363 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 62112 53 55.16202998161316 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 62548 53 243.44447803497314 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 62800 53 305.3915159702301 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 63205 53 225.19367694854736 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 64753 53 131.07249307632446 udp
192.168.56.14 8.8.8.8 65148 53 40.453596115112305 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

8

Registry Set

16

Services Started

0

Services Opened

0

Registry Opened (Top 25)

Key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\Explorer\Process
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Schedule
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\Explorer
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings
Show all (8 total)

Registry Set (Top 25)

Key Value
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks\{5F5B270A-F8A4-46CC-AE08-18CE99F1851D}\DynamicInfo
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks\{5F5B270A-F8A4-46CC-AE08-18CE99F1851D}\Hash
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks\{5F5B270A-F8A4-46CC-AE08-18CE99F1851D}\Path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks\{5F5B270A-F8A4-46CC-AE08-18CE99F1851D}\Triggers
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\svchost\Id
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\svchost\Index
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\Explorer %windir%\resources\themes\explorer.exe RO
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\Svchost %windir%\resources\svchost.exe RO
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\ShowSuperHidden 0
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\Explorer\Process\LO 1
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\Explorer\Process\LO 1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\Explorer %WINDIR%\resources\themes\explorer.exe RO
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\ShowSuperHidden 0x00000000
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\Svchost %WINDIR%\resources\svchost.exe RO
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Schedule\Start 0x00000002
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess\Start 0x00000004

Services Started (Top 15)

Services Opened (Top 15)

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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