Is BraveUpdateSetup.exe safe?
A verified Brave Software signature, zero detections across 74 engines, substantial prevalence, and installer-consistent activity strongly support a legitimate Brave updater.
The executable carries a verified Brave Software signature and received no detections from 74 antivirus engines, including 17 tier-1 engines. Its observed activity matches browser installation and updating, although persistence-related techniques and incomplete host-reputation coverage warrant downloading it only from Brave's official channel.
06388227279a8dab80…b7f079f83f967bRecommended next actions
Before running
Run it only when it came from the developer's official site or another source you independently trust.
If you already ran it
Keep normal device protection enabled and stop if the file behaves unexpectedly.
Intelligence
The saved assessment, checked against the scan evidence and recorded coverage.
The reasoning behind this verdict
This section explains the evidence supporting the verdict and keeps conflicting or missing signals visible.
The executable carries a verified Brave Software signature and received no detections from 74 antivirus engines, including 17 tier-1 engines. Its observed activity matches browser installation and updating, although persistence-related techniques and incomplete host-reputation coverage warrant downloading it only from Brave's official channel.
No antivirus engine among 74 flagged the sample, and all 17 tier-1 participants reported no detection. The executable is verified as signed by Brave Software, with no detected conflict between its branding and signer. One sandbox observed Brave update endpoints, temporary updater components, and browser installation processes without producing a malicious runtime verdict. Persistence and defense-evasion technique flags are meaningful counter-signals, but these can occur during legitimate software installation and lack corroboration from engines, child analysis, or external intelligence. The file also reached 353 sources and 405 submissions in three days, which is consistent with a broadly distributed software release. Host-reputation inspection covered only part of the observed contacts, so the network evidence should not be described as comprehensively cleared.
What We Detected
The sample received 0 detections across 74 antivirus engines, including no detections from 17 tier-1 engines. Its code signature verifies to Brave Software, and no brand mismatch was detected. The file is also broadly distributed for its age, with 353 sources and 405 submissions within three days.
Threat Behavior
One completed sandbox run launched Brave installation components, wrote updater files, and contacted Brave update infrastructure. It did not produce a malicious sandbox verdict, and none of 10 inspected dropped children was identified as malicious. The run nevertheless surfaced persistence indicators and techniques T1485 and T1562.001, plus direct-IP traffic. These deserve attention, but they are not corroborated by engine detections, malicious children, YARAify rules, or a MalwareBazaar hit. Host-reputation inspection covered only six hosts and did not cover every observed contact, so no complete host-reputation result is available.
What To Do Now
Use this installer only if it came from Brave's official website or built-in update mechanism, and retain normal endpoint protection. If it arrived through an unsolicited message, advertisement, or unofficial mirror, discard that copy and download a fresh installer through Brave's official release channel.
Where this verdict could be wrong5 caveats
- The sandbox recorded offensive techniques T1485 and T1562.001 plus installer persistence indicators, although it did not issue a malicious sandbox verdict.
- contactedHosts.inspected=6 does not cover every distinct host in behaviour.contactedIps and behaviour.contactedUrls, so host-reputation coverage is incomplete.
- signing.signerStats.found=false, leaving no historical signer record in this dataset.
- All 10 dropped children have individual verdict=null, despite droppedChildren.hasMaliciousChild=false; their per-child classifications remain unavailable.
- The file is only 3 days old, and similarHashes is empty, limiting historical comparison.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- 0/74 antivirus engines detected a threat.
- All 17 tier-1 engines reported no detection.
- Verified code signature from Brave Software.
- No detected brand mismatch.
- No malicious sandbox verdict or malicious dropped child.
- Sandbox surfaced offensive techniques T1485 and T1562.001.
- Persistence-related installer indicators were observed.
- Direct-IP traffic triggered MalwareTips.Synth.DirectIpC2.
- Host-reputation inspection did not cover every observed network contact.
- No historical signer statistics or similar-hash verdicts are available.
- Ten dropped children lack individual verdicts.
Proceed only when the file was obtained from Brave's official website or updater, and keep endpoint protection enabled. Replace copies obtained from unofficial or unsolicited sources.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete0 of 74 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Partial6 of 26 contacted hosts were cross-checked; coverage is incomplete.
YARA
Complete2 signature or behavior rules matched.
External intel
Complete3 of 3 independent reference sources completed.
Behavior
Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.
Runtime flight recorder
Capture complete- 1isolated sandbox run
- 13MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 15spawned processes
- 29network contacts
- 40filesystem & mutex artifacts
Attack story
Runtime observations grouped by analysis stage. Arrows organize the stages; they do not claim chronology or causality.
Input file
The submitted object
- FileObserved
BraveUpdateSetup.exe
06388227279a8dab80e4bf3922e29349688faaed562179a6d4b7f079f83f967b
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\BraveBrowserSetup_153_1_95_104.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdate.exe /installsource taggedmi /install "appguid={AFE6A462-C574-4B8A-AF43-4CC60DF4563B}&appname=Brave-Release&needsadmin=prefers&ap=release&installdataindex=default&referral=none"
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
GUTC5F0.tmp
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUTC5F0.tmp
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
BraveUpdate.exe
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdate.exe
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostObserved
52.85.129.73
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis - Contacted hostObserved
99.86.101.77
Contact observed during runtime.
07Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
7 recorded facts from one runtime window. Every fact remains independently traceable in Analyst mode.
What this file did when executed
This file was detonated in 1 sandbox and its runtime behaviour was observed.
Adversary techniques mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
- 52.85.129.73
- 99.86.101.77
- 18.172.170.103
- 52.85.129.43
- 184.32.127.219
- 3.165.160.27
- 18.238.238.4
- 16.147.173.43
- 108.138.94.89
- 151.101.193.32
- https://updates.bravesoftware.com/service/update2
- https://updates.bravesoftware.com/service/update2?cup2key=2:P4MhQ8y4i2-KYAFSIO7HJ3DqA3xiJJZajUv-UCgoiBU&cup2hreq=f8d5fe6196c967a826bd1097f8c5b1c31d08a60a797cfdbe6e653226482ca11d
- https://dl.brave.com/update2/installers/icons/%7BAFE6A462-C574-4B8A-AF43-4CC60DF4563B%7D.bmp
- https://updates-cdn.bravesoftware.com/build/Brave-Release/release/win/153.1.95.102/x64/brave_installer-x64.exe
- http://ctldl.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/v3/static/trustedr/en/disallowedcertstl.cab?aa65895aa1b9fb7f
- http://ocsp.rootg2.amazontrust.com/MFQwUjBQME4wTDAJBgUrDgMCGgUABBSIfaREXmfqfJR3TkMYnD7O5MhzEgQUnF8A36oB1zArOIiiuG1KnPIRkYMCEwZ%2FlEoqJ83z%2BsKuKwH5CO65xMY%3D
- bravem
- brave
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUTC5F0.tmp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdate.exe
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveCrashHandler.exe
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\goopdate.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdateBroker.exe
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdate.exe
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveCrashHandler.exe
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\goopdate.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdateBroker.exe
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdateOnDemand.exe
- __OMADM_NAMED_MUTEX__
- Global\BraveSoftwareS-1-5-21-4005801669-2598574594-602355426-1001{BC6A0F04-AE75-459F-B879-2C961515B78A}
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Global\BraveSoftware{BC6A0F04-AE75-459F-B879-2C961515B78A}
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\__OMADM_NAMED_MUTEX__
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Global\BraveSoftware{C50974A0-5616-4DC6-AC6D-D4EFF6F5FAC3}
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 10 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- bbe3a7b4851a6960f163…aa0cd3Never scannednever seen before
- f665a6e32e5eca794a19…238d66Never scannednever seen before
- c3cdd9676a486ce38e93…ac4befNever scannednever seen before
- 69437c05073cf0db3c54…0100e8Never scannednever seen before
- c2e20b49306e0160d0a3…67515dNever scannednever seen before
- 650eb813314eb5c880d8…db6453Never scannednever seen before
- 27dfa8fc5b75689a92f6…f1d390Never scannednever seen before
- 2f5e1c6dc311964c3c87…ba83c5Never scannednever seen before
- f4d2548f761a9a3d5cf7…459c14Never scannednever seen before
- beb6ef75aaca87b8b9c4…0de017Never scannednever seen before
Detection & Forensics
Consensus, attribution, signatures, code structure, prevalence, and identity.
Evidence integrity
Chain of custody for the facts preserved in this report.
- 2rule hits recorded
- 0 / 74engines flagged
- 353sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
0 of 74 antivirus engines flagged the file.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 02
The file has a valid code signature from Brave Software.
ProvenanceObservedSourceCode-signing metadataObserved at - 03
The hash has been submitted 405 times from 353 sources.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceSaved report factsObserved at - 04
Scanned file: BraveUpdateSetup.exe — 06388227279a8dab80e4bf3922e29349688faaed562179a6d4b7f079f83f967b
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\BraveBrowserSetup_153_1_95_104.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdate.exe /installsource taggedmi /install "appguid={AFE6A462-C574-4B8A-AF43-4CC60DF4563B}&appname=Brave-Release&needsadmin=prefers&ap=release&installdataindex=default&referral=none"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: GUTC5F0.tmp — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUTC5F0.tmp
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: BraveUpdate.exe — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\GUMC5D0.tmp\BraveUpdate.exe
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: 52.85.129.73 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 10
Contacted host: 99.86.101.77 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
The available sources did not agree on a named threat category.
MalwareBazaar, YARAify, and CIRCL hashlookup completed and returned no entries for this hash.
Signatures and behavior heuristics
Behavioral heuristics matched patterns associated with malware. Corroborating evidence determines how much weight they carry.
Sandbox flagged persistence indicators (registry Run keys / services / scheduled tasks).
Evidencebravem · braveThe sample contacted an external IP address directly and no application domain was recorded. Direct-IP traffic also occurs in legitimate installers and infrastructure, so this is supporting context only and requires corroboration from host reputation and other runtime evidence.
Evidence52.85.129.73 · 99.86.101.77 · 18.172.170.103
0 of 74 engines flagged this file
View all 74 engine results
Section entropy & packers
No high-entropy executable section or known packer signature was detected. Data and resource sections can still have high entropy without indicating packed code.
How widely this file has been seen
Lots of people are uploading this but it's recent — typical of newly-released legitimate software. Low prior for malware.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- BraveUpdateSetup.exe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- Signature valid: Brave Software
- Size
- 1.2 MB
- Last analyzed
- Sep 20, 2026, 10:57 PM UTC
06388227279a8dab80e4bf3922e29349688faaed562179a6d4b7f079f83f967bSafety & FAQ
Complete recovery guidance and answers for the next decision.
What to do now
This file appears low risk based on the evidence available now.
- Recovery step 01
Run it only when it came from the developer's official site or another source you independently trust.
- Recovery step 02
A clean result reduces known risk, but it cannot guarantee that every new or targeted threat has been detected.
- Recovery step 03
Keep your antivirus and Windows updates switched on so you stay protected.
Safety FAQ
Direct answers grounded in the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is BraveUpdateSetup.exe safe?
What is BraveUpdateSetup.exe?
How many antivirus engines detected BraveUpdateSetup.exe?
Is BraveUpdateSetup.exe digitally signed?
What is the SHA-256 hash of BraveUpdateSetup.exe?
Is it safe to run BraveUpdateSetup.exe?
How up to date is this analysis of BraveUpdateSetup.exe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.