Windows API Functions Leveraged for Malicious Execution Flow by Nova Ransomware


Zero‑Dwell Threat Intelligence Report

A narrative, executive‑ready view into the malware’s behavior, exposure, and reliable defenses.
Generated: 2026-01-13 11:02:42 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
jfvt7guz.exe
Type
Win64 Executable (generic)
SHA‑1
662e3cf1707adc23eac33db146f071876a4c2f2c
MD5
c9f3f7a6a36a43c295afa2352c97d1c3
First Seen
2026-01-12 12:39:34.806578
Last Analysis
2026-01-12 15:28:13.377890
Dwell Time
0 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes

Extended Dwell Time Impact

For 2+ 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
2025-12-19 06:52:32 UTC First VirusTotal submission
2026-01-13 09:11:01 UTC Latest analysis snapshot 25 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes
2026-01-13 11:02:42 UTC Report generation time 25 days, 4 hours, 10 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: 42. Missed: 30. Coverage: 58.3%.

Detected Vendors

  • Xcitium
  • +41 additional vendors (names not provided)

List includes Xcitium plus an additional 41 vendors per the provided summary.

Missed Vendors

  • Acronis
  • Antiy-AVL
  • APEX
  • Avira
  • Baidu
  • ClamAV
  • CMC
  • Cynet
  • DrWeb
  • F-Secure
  • Fortinet
  • google_safebrowsing
  • Gridinsoft
  • huorong
  • Jiangmin
  • Kingsoft
  • Panda
  • Sangfor
  • SentinelOne
  • Skyhigh
  • SUPERAntiSpyware
  • TACHYON
  • tehtris
  • Trapmine
  • VBA32
  • VirIT
  • Webroot
  • 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 – get common file path
  • T1027 – encrypt data using RC4 PRGA
  • T1027 – encrypt data using Salsa20 or ChaCha
  • T1059 – accept command line arguments
  • T1027 – reference Base64 string
  • T1562.001 – disable Windows Defender features via registry on Windows
  • T1129 – link function at runtime on Windows
  • T1027 – encode data using Base64
  • T1083 – check if file exists
  • T1027 – encode data using XOR
  • T1129 – parse PE header
  • T1082 – query environment variable
  • T1129 – link many functions at runtime
  • T1027 – encrypt data using speck
  • T1202 – Uses suspicious command line tools or Windows utilities
  • T1202 – Uses Windows utilities for basic functionality
  • T1055 – Creates a process in a suspended state, likely for injection
  • T1082 – Checks available memory
  • T1057 – Uses Windows utilities to enumerate running processes
  • T1106 – Guard pages use detected – possible anti-debugging.
  • T1059 – Executed a command line with /C or /R argument to terminate command shell on completion which can be used to hide execution
  • T1562.001 – Creates guard pages, often used to prevent reverse engineering and debugging
  • T1070.004 – May delete shadow drive data (may be related to ransomware)
  • T1090 – Found Tor onion address

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 23.44.129.37 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
5isohu.com A
www.msftncsi.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
192.168.56.13 192.168.56.255 137 137 3.260270833969116 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 49311 5355 5.741897821426392 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 55150 5355 3.188166856765747 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 60010 5355 5.195566892623901 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 62406 5355 3.1911959648132324 udp
192.168.56.13 224.0.0.252 63527 5355 3.5976860523223877 udp
192.168.56.13 239.255.255.250 52252 3702 3.199622869491577 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.4.4 54879 53 7.78703498840332 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.4.4 54881 53 6.1764068603515625 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.8.8 54879 53 8.786927938461304 udp
192.168.56.13 8.8.8.8 54881 53 7.16237998008728 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

110

Registry Set

0

Services Started

3

Services Opened

2

Registry Opened (Top 25)

Key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\AppID
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{76D90824-E735-4844-B26F-AA1235B6E76B}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{00000134-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{9556DC99-828C-11CF-A37E-00AA003240C7}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\PathCompletionChar
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\AppID
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProgramFilesDir
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WBEM\CIMOM
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{1C1C45EE-4395-11D2-B60B-00104B703EFD}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{423EC01E-2E35-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CommonFilesDir
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Lsa\FipsAlgorithmPolicy
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\ActivateOnHostFlags
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{9556DC99-828C-11CF-A37E-00AA003240C7}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\InprocHandler32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{76D90824-E735-4844-B26F-AA1235B6E76B}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\LocalServer32
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Interface\{76D90824-E735-4844-B26F-AA1235B6E76B}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{00020424-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\LocalServer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\AMSI
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\LocalServer32
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\InprocHandler32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Lsa\FipsAlgorithmPolicy\Enabled
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{1C1C45EE-4395-11D2-B60B-00104B703EFD}
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\AppID\slui.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx\AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{D4781CD6-E5D3-44DF-AD94-930EFE48A887}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\TreatAs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{00000134-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters\RpcCacheTimeout
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\InprocHandler
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole\AppCompat\RaiseActivationAuthenticationLevel
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Lsa\FipsAlgorithmPolicy\STE
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Wbem\CIMOM\Logging
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CommonFilesDir (x86)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Rpc\Extensions
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{027947E1-D731-11CE-A357-000000000001}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Lsa\FipsAlgorithmPolicy\MDMEnabled
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\DisableUNCCheck
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\DelayedExpansion
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\EnableExtensions
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\OLE
Show all (110 total)
Key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{00020424-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\TreatAs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\InprocHandler
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Interface\{00000134-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc\Extensions\NdrOleExtDLL
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{9F6C78EF-FCE5-42FA-ABEA-3E7DF91921DC}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID\slui.exe\AppId
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\GRE_Initialize\DisableMetaFiles
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{027947E1-D731-11CE-A357-000000000001}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{9556DC99-828C-11CF-A37E-00AA003240C7}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\GRE_Initialize
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\InprocHandler32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\AMSI\Providers
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProgramFilesDir (x86)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\OLE\AppCompat
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\CompletionChar
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{027947E1-D731-11CE-A357-000000000001}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\TreatAs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\GRE_Initialize\DisableUmpdBufferSizeCheck
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\ActivateOnHostFlags
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\Elevation
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{9F6C78EF-FCE5-42FA-ABEA-3E7DF91921DC}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{D4781CD6-E5D3-44DF-AD94-930EFE48A887}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\ActivateOnHostFlags
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock\AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{9F6C78EF-FCE5-42FA-ABEA-3E7DF91921DC}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{D68AF00A-29CB-43FA-8504-CE99A996D9EA}\Elevation
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\DefaultColor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{423EC01E-2E35-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3\Com+Enabled
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{423EC01E-2E35-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\ProxyStubClsid32\(Default)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole\MaxSxSHashCount
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{D4781CD6-E5D3-44DF-AD94-930EFE48A887}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CommonW6432Dir
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProgramW6432Dir
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Interface\{1C1C45EE-4395-11D2-B60B-00104B703EFD}\ProxyStubClsid32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID\tasklist.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\COM3
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\TreatAs
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\TreatAs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\InprocHandler32
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\LocalServer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{F87B28F1-DA9A-4F35-8EC0-800EFCF26B83}\InprocHandler
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AMSI\FeatureBits
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1B1CAD8C-2DAB-11D2-B604-00104B703EFD}\InprocHandler
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\OSDATA\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\SdbUpdates\ManifestedMergeStubSdbs
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\SdbUpdates
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies\Microsoft\Cryptography\Configuration
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Segment Heap

Registry Set (Top 25)

Services Started (Top 15)

Service
LxpSvc
BITS
WSearch

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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