Is MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe safe?
A valid MICRO-STAR signature, zero detections across 75 engines, and extensive long-term prevalence outweigh uncorroborated sandbox mappings involving process injection and LSASS.
The installer carries a verified MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO. signature and received no detections from 75 antivirus engines after extensive circulation. One sandbox mapped activity to process injection, protection impairment, and an LSASS-related process, but issued no malicious verdict and recorded no persistence, dropped hashes, or network contacts.
459f8562dd7ef319de…33517fbdca9f40Recommended 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 installer carries a verified MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO. signature and received no detections from 75 antivirus engines after extensive circulation. One sandbox mapped activity to process injection, protection impairment, and an LSASS-related process, but issued no malicious verdict and recorded no persistence, dropped hashes, or network contacts.
No antivirus engine flagged the file, including the high-trust engines that completed analysis. Its verified MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO. signature has no detected brand conflict, and the sample has circulated through 3,710 sources and 16,599 submissions over 304 days. Those signals strongly support an established MSI Afterburner installer rather than a newly distributed impersonator. One sandbox produced T1055 and T1562.001 mappings and included LSASS in its process list, but it did not return a malicious verdict or record persistence, dropped file hashes, or network contacts. High-entropy packed code adds uncertainty, although compressed installer packaging can explain it. The imphash-based historical matches involve different signers and filenames, so they were not treated as strong identity evidence.
What We Detected
The sample received 0 detections across 75 antivirus engines. It is signed with a verified certificate for MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO., and no conflict was detected between the claimed MSI identity and the signer. The file is also well established, with 3,710 submitting sources and 16,599 submissions over 304 days.
Threat Behavior
One completed sandbox mapped activity to T1055 and T1562.001 and included an LSASS-related process, which can be associated with credential-access or evasion activity. However, the sandbox issued no malicious verdict and recorded no persistence indicators, dropped file hashes, domains, IP addresses, or URLs. The executable has high-entropy code and appears packed, reducing static visibility but remaining compatible with compressed installer packaging. No complete contacted-host reputation result is available.
What To Do Now
Confirm that the file came from MSI's official distribution channel and that Windows still reports the MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO. signature as valid before installation. Keep endpoint protection enabled and rescan if the signature changes, the installer requests unusual security exclusions, or new detections appear.
Where this verdict could be wrong3 caveats
- The completed sandbox mapped activity to T1055 and T1562.001 and included an LSASS process, which warrants caution even though it did not issue a malicious verdict.
- peAnalysis.highEntropyCode=true and peAnalysis.likelyPacked=true make static inspection less transparent.
- contactedHosts=null, so no completed host-reputation cross-check is available; however, the sandbox recorded no contacted domains, IPs, or URLs.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- 0/75 antivirus detections
- 16 tier-1 engines reported no detection
- Verified signature from MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.
- No detected brand mismatch
- 3,710 sources and 16,599 submissions over 304 days
- Sandbox mapping to T1055 process injection
- Sandbox mapping to T1562.001 protection impairment
- LSASS appeared in the sandbox process evidence
- High-entropy code with peAnalysis.likelyPacked=true
- No completed contacted-host reputation cross-check
Use the installer only if obtained from MSI's official channel and its verified MICRO-STAR signature remains intact. Keep antivirus and endpoint protection enabled during installation.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete0 of 75 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Not runNo contacted-host reputation check is recorded.
No timestamp recordedYARA
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
- 18MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 12spawned processes
- 0network contacts
- 10filesystem & 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
MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe
459f8562dd7ef319de47e7064c6c010d937f6df9e02735e9e533517fbdca9f40
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\executable.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
C:\Windows\system32\services.exe
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
Download-1.tmp
C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache\Fonts\Download-1.tmp
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
BaseNamedObjects
\Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
5 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.
- C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache\Fonts\Download-1.tmp
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Security Health\Logs
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Local\__DDrawExclMode__
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Local\__DDrawCheckExclMode__
- \BaseNamedObjects\Local\SM0:4524:304:WilStaging_02
- \BaseNamedObjects\Local\SM0:4524:120:WilError_03
- \BaseNamedObjects\Local\ZonesCacheCounterMutex
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 / 75engines flagged
- 3,710sources 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 75 antivirus engines flagged the file.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 02
The hash has a long, established submission history across 3,710 sources.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceSubmission historyObserved at - 03
The file has a valid code signature from MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO..
ProvenanceObservedSourceCode-signing metadataObserved at - 04
Scanned file: MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe — 459f8562dd7ef319de47e7064c6c010d937f6df9e02735e9e533517fbdca9f40
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\executable.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — C:\Windows\system32\services.exe
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: Download-1.tmp — C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\FontCache\Fonts\Download-1.tmp
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: BaseNamedObjects — \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects
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
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.
EvidenceC:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService -pSandbox observed process activity targeting LSASS (Windows credential store). Legitimate software has no business reading LSASS memory — this is Mimikatz-shape behaviour.
EvidenceC:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe
0 of 75 engines flagged this file
View all 75 engine results
Section entropy & packers
Executable sections have high entropy (7.2+) — the code is compressed or encrypted and only decrypted at runtime. Classic packing behaviour.
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
- MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- Signature valid: MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.
- Size
- 42.5 MB
- Last analyzed
- Sep 14, 2026, 1:23 PM UTC
459f8562dd7ef319de47e7064c6c010d937f6df9e02735e9e533517fbdca9f40Safety & 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 MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe safe?
What is MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe?
How many antivirus engines detected MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe?
Is MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe digitally signed?
What is the SHA-256 hash of MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe?
Is it safe to run MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe?
How up to date is this analysis of MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.