Is AppExe safe?
Thirty-one of 75 engines flagged this unsigned executable, while runtime analysis recorded process-manipulation techniques and produced a malware finding.
The unsigned executable drew detections from 31 of 75 engines, including nine independent high-trust votes and repeated Wacatac naming. A completed runtime analysis also produced a malware finding and mapped activity to process injection and token manipulation, making accidental heuristic detection unlikely.
13d2b179f9b6c6d62e…53d94e2a191b0eRecommended next actions
Before opening
Do not open it. Delete this file from the device, then empty the Recycle Bin or Trash.
If you already opened it
Close it. If it opened links, requested credentials, or triggered unexpected behavior, disconnect from the internet and run a full device scan.
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 unsigned executable drew detections from 31 of 75 engines, including nine independent high-trust votes and repeated Wacatac naming. A completed runtime analysis also produced a malware finding and mapped activity to process injection and token manipulation, making accidental heuristic detection unlikely.
A substantial 31 of 75 engines detected the file, and nine independent high-trust engines contributed malicious votes. Microsoft and TrendMicro identify Wacatac, although the broader family labels are inconsistent and do not establish a strong canonical-family consensus. Runtime evidence includes T1055 process injection and T1134 access-token manipulation, alongside a malware sandbox finding. The executable is unsigned, leaving no verified publisher identity to counterbalance those findings. No complete host-reputation result is available for the observed IP connection, so that contact is not used as confirmed command-and-control evidence. The absence of malicious child verdicts and external-intelligence matches provides limited dissent but does not outweigh the direct engine and runtime findings.
What We Detected
Thirty-one of 75 antivirus engines flagged this unsigned Win32 executable. Nine independent high-trust engines contributed malicious detections, including Microsoft naming Wacatac and TrendMicro naming WACATAC.USBLH826. Other engines used generic trojan, Agent, adware, and Neshta labels, so Wacatac is the leading name rather than a firm family consensus.
Threat Behavior
A completed runtime analysis produced a malware finding and recorded T1055 process injection and T1134 access-token manipulation. These techniques can let unwanted code execute within another process or alter security context. The sample also contacted 162.159.36.2 directly, but no complete saved host-reputation check is available, so that connection cannot be confirmed as command-and-control.
What To Do Now
Do not launch the file. Keep endpoint protection enabled, quarantine or remove the executable, and run a full system scan if it was already executed. Review active processes, startup locations, and account activity on the affected machine; isolate it from sensitive networks if unusual behavior is present.
Where this verdict could be wrong5 caveats
- The labels lack strong family consensus: engines.tier1FamilyConsensus.strong=false, and the reported names range across Wacatac, Agent, generic trojan, adware, and Neshta.
- droppedChildren inspected 10 files without a confirmed malicious child, although all 10 child verdicts remain unknown.
- externalIntel.yaraify.ruleCount=0, externalIntel.circl.hit=false, and externalIntel.malwareBazaar.hit=false.
- prevalence.classification=common_old reflects 166 sources and 208 submissions, so the sample is neither rare nor newly observed.
- One completed sandbox result was clean, creating some runtime disagreement despite behaviour.hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict=true.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- No strong tier-1 family consensus
- No confirmed malicious dropped child among 10 inspected
- No YARAify, CIRCL, or MalwareBazaar external-intelligence hit
- No high-entropy code or likely packing detected
- One sandbox result was clean
- 31/75 antivirus detections
- Nine independent high-trust malicious votes
- Malware sandbox finding
- T1055 process-injection evidence
- T1134 access-token manipulation evidence
- Unsigned Win32 executable
Quarantine or delete the file without executing it, and keep all endpoint protection enabled. If it has run, isolate the device as appropriate and perform a full scan plus process, persistence, and credential review.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete31 of 75 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Partial1 runtime contact was observed without a completed reputation cross-check.
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
- 17MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 5spawned processes
- 1network contacts
- 18filesystem & mutex artifacts
What this file does
Observed actions and their security significance
High concern: Injected code into another process, a technique that can conceal execution.
High concern: Manipulated how the operating system loads code, which can redirect execution.
Moderate concern: Contained obfuscated or packed code that makes inspection harder.
Moderate concern: Runs hidden system commands (script or shell).
Moderate concern: Communicated over a common application protocol; malware can use this for command-and-control.
Moderate concern: Scans through your files and folders.
Moderate concern: Checked the environment for virtualisation or analysis tools.
These are observed capabilities from an isolated analysis. A technique does not prove malicious intent on its own, and the file never ran on your device.
Threat context
How trojans work
A trojan disguises itself as something useful or harmless to trick you into running it. Once open, it does its real job in the background — anything from stealing data to opening a back door or downloading more malware.
Bottom line:The disguise is the whole trick, so a trustworthy-looking name or icon means nothing.
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
AppExe
13d2b179f9b6c6d62ebce61f6fff937556f50da208429f645553d94e2a191b0e
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-24BKH.tmp\program.tmp" /SL5="$60038,5018236,140800,C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
program.tmp
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-24BKH.tmp\program.tmp
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
_setup64.tmp
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-1U6TM.tmp\_isetup\_setup64.tmp
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostObserved
162.159.36.2
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis
6 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; 1 returned "malicious".
Adversary techniques mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
- 162.159.36.2
- HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\Software\Microsoft\RestartManager\Session0000\Owner
- HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\Software\Microsoft\RestartManager\Session0000\Sequence
- HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-575823232-3065301323-1442773979-1000\Software\Microsoft\RestartManager\Session0000\SessionHash
- Software\Microsoft\RestartManager\Session0000\Owner
- Software\Microsoft\RestartManager\Session0000\SessionHash
- Software\Microsoft\RestartManager\Session0000\Sequence
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-24BKH.tmp\program.tmp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-1U6TM.tmp\_isetup\_setup64.tmp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-1U6TM.tmp\_isetup\_shfoldr.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-1U6TM.tmp\idp.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-1U6TM.tmp\innocallback.dll
- Local\DirectSound DllMain mutex (0x00001454)
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Local\RstrMgr3887CAB8-533F-4C85-B0DC-3E5639F8D511
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Local\RstrMgr-3887CAB8-533F-4C85-B0DC-3E5639F8D511-Session0000
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 10 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- 09af8004b85478e1eca0…47b449Never scannednever seen before
- d92f7c60256509f74e36…62ea29Never scannednever seen before
- 450b9b0ba25bf068afbc…fd0105Never scannednever seen before
- f84677643d9977aa1e8a…61f824Never scannednever seen before
- 19a5466ab1834f953662…6072f5Never scannednever seen before
- ed8a485b9984997306ea…c78ee9Never scannednever seen before
- 9884e9d1b4f8a873ccbd…360d87Never scannednever seen before
- fbbf18f351711497ef2c…43fa39Never scannednever seen before
- a1c80a60363e23d475e8…84a07cNever scannednever seen before
- 1099609718f22cc3592d…072b87Never 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
- 31 / 75engines flagged
- 166sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
1 isolated runtime environment classified the observed behavior as malicious.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 02
1 high-confidence signature or behavior rule matched this file.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceSignature and behavior rulesObserved at - 03
31 of 75 antivirus engines flagged the file, including alibabacloud and ALYac.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 04
Scanned file: AppExe — 13d2b179f9b6c6d62ebce61f6fff937556f50da208429f645553d94e2a191b0e
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-24BKH.tmp\program.tmp" /SL5="$60038,5018236,140800,C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: program.tmp — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-24BKH.tmp\program.tmp
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: _setup64.tmp — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-1U6TM.tmp\_isetup\_setup64.tmp
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: 162.159.36.2 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
Category: generic-trojan
MalwareBazaar, YARAify, and CIRCL hashlookup completed and returned no entries for this hash.
Signatures and behavior heuristics
A community signature or high-severity behavioral heuristic matched. Signatures identify known patterns; heuristics are strong leads but are not proof on their own.
The saved runtime evidence maps this activity to MITRE T1055 (Process Injection). The mapping supports possible process injection, but it does not prove the exact injection method or the operator's intent.
Evidence"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"The 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.
Evidence162.159.36.2
31 of 75 engines flagged this file
View all 75 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
Widely seen in the wild for a long time. High prior this is legitimate; isolated detections on common-old files are usually false positives.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- AppExe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- No verified publisher
- Size
- 5.4 MB
- Last analyzed
- Sep 30, 2026, 3:51 PM UTC
13d2b179f9b6c6d62ebce61f6fff937556f50da208429f645553d94e2a191b0eSafety & FAQ
Complete recovery guidance and answers for the next decision.
What to do now
This file is dangerous. Treat it as harmful and remove it.
- Recovery step 01
Don't open this file. Delete this file from the device, then empty the Recycle Bin or Trash.
- Recovery step 02
If you already opened it, disconnect from the internet and start with a full antivirus scan or Microsoft Defender Offline scan. If compromise is suspected or the problem persists, use a reputable second-opinion scanner and follow incident-recovery or clean-reinstall guidance.
- Recovery step 03
If you typed any passwords while it was open, change them from a device you trust.
- Recovery step 04
Get a fresh copy from the original trusted source and verify its exact hash when possible.
Safety FAQ
Direct answers grounded in the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is AppExe a virus?
What is AppExe?
How many antivirus engines detected AppExe?
What should I do if I already opened AppExe?
How do I remove AppExe?
What kind of malware is AppExe?
What is the SHA-256 hash of AppExe?
How up to date is this analysis of AppExe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.