Is MSPAINT.EXE safe?
Unsigned but widely submitted Windows executable matching a known Microsoft mspaint path with zero engine detections.
Zero of 75 engines flagged the file. External intelligence links it to a legitimate Windows system component path. Sandbox behaviour shows some suspicious techniques but no malicious verdicts or children.
94aa32a2c9c1d2db78…0324b55fdd5709Recommended 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.
Zero of 75 engines flagged the file. External intelligence links it to a legitimate Windows system component path. Sandbox behaviour shows some suspicious techniques but no malicious verdicts or children.
The complete absence of malicious detections across tier-1 and tier-2 engines combined with a CIRCL hit pointing to a Microsoft WinSxS mspaint.exe location strongly indicates a legitimate system file. While the binary is unsigned and exhibits direct-IP contacts plus credential-dumping MITRE mappings, these signals are outweighed by the 16 tier-1 clean reports and common_old prevalence. No dropped malicious children or malicious sandbox consensus exist. The file therefore aligns with a clean classification despite minor behavioural anomalies.
What We Detected
71 engines reported the sample; none returned malicious or suspicious labels. External CIRCL intelligence matched the file to the Microsoft Windows component path amd64_microsoft-windows-mspaint_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.19041.746_none_6c16d1714d60fddf/mspaint.exe. The binary is unsigned and contacted 19 external IPs without using DNS.
Threat Behavior
Sandbox execution recorded MITRE techniques T1003 (OS Credential Dumping) and T1547.001 (Boot or Logon Autostart Execution) plus direct-IP network activity. Ten dropped files were inspected; none were malicious. No persistence mechanisms or registry modifications were observed.
What To Do Now
The file can be treated as a legitimate Windows component. Verify its location against C:\Windows\System32 or WinSxS directories. If the file appears outside expected system paths, replace it from a trusted Windows source.
Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
- Unsigned file with direct-IP contacts (19 IPs, 0 domains) and MITRE T1003/T1547.001 could indicate greyware or modified binary despite the CIRCL Microsoft path match.
- Multiple communityComments flag the sample as SUSPICIOUS with tags evasive/greyware, though none cite a malware family.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- Zero malicious engine detections
- CIRCL match to known Microsoft mspaint.exe path
- Common_old prevalence with hundreds of submissions
- No malicious dropped children or sandbox verdicts
- Unsigned binary
- Direct-IP network contacts without DNS
- MITRE T1003 and T1547.001 observed in sandbox
Allow the file if located in standard Windows directories; otherwise replace it from official Microsoft sources.
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
Partial20 runtime contacts were 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
- 18MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 11spawned processes
- 20network contacts
- 20filesystem & 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
MSPAINT.EXE
94aa32a2c9c1d2db78318d9c68262c2f834abe26b6e9a661700324b55fdd5709
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\MSPAINT.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
wiatrace.log
C:\Windows\debug\WIA\wiatrace.log
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
WIA
C:\Windows\Debug\WIA
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostObserved
74.125.69.94
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis - Contacted hostObserved
204.79.197.203
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.
- 74.125.69.94
- 204.79.197.203
- 209.197.3.8
- 192.168.0.84
- a83f:8110:0:0:1b00:100:2800:0
- a83f:8110:8102:0:f801:67a3:8102:0
- 23.216.147.76
- 20.62.24.77
- a83f:8110:0:0:1400:1400:2800:3800
- 23.216.147.64
- C:\Windows\debug\WIA\wiatrace.log
- C:\Windows\Debug\WIA
- C:\Windows\Debug\WIA\wiatrace.log
- C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\Keys\de7cf8a7901d2ad13e5c67c29e5d1662_cbbb49d6-b7ff-44ca-aba5-8a5e250d4d42
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WEREC05.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WERED0F.tmp.csv
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WERED6E.tmp.txt
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER2546.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
- Global\WIATRACE_MUTEX
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Global\WIATRACE_MUTEX
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 10 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- 91057b27acd3a65af4e7…71dcefNever scannednever seen before
- 4cb7bac71da39bc46e40…c8aba2Never scannednever seen before
- 1864150a191097714a3d…27a78aNever scannednever seen before
- 2f4330caacfdb8cabde1…f0a5c8Never scannednever seen before
- edc8dc0f4532b08f74a4…f8e90cNever scannednever seen before
- 2575699810fbe4efbc8c…c47ddbNever scannednever seen before
- 51010046f60b2cff329c…cc6cbdNever scannednever seen before
- 4c6e4af9922a05c7ddb6…bdb634Never scannednever seen before
- 0805e87465808e076afb…12fa4aNever scannednever seen before
- 552d7566e3f6f765e269…790b22Never 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 / 75engines flagged
- 351sources 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 appears in a known-software reference database.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceReference software databaseObserved at - 03
The hash has a long, established submission history across 351 sources.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceSubmission historyObserved at - 04
Scanned file: MSPAINT.EXE — 94aa32a2c9c1d2db78318d9c68262c2f834abe26b6e9a661700324b55fdd5709
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\MSPAINT.EXE"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — C:\Windows\system32\services.exe
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: wiatrace.log — C:\Windows\debug\WIA\wiatrace.log
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: WIA — C:\Windows\Debug\WIA
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: 74.125.69.94 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 10
Contacted host: 204.79.197.203 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
The available sources did not agree on a named threat category.
One or more independent reference databases matched this hash.
Signatures and behavior heuristics
Behavioral heuristics matched patterns associated with malware. Corroborating evidence determines how much weight they carry.
MITRE T1003 (OS Credential Dumping) mapped by at least one sandbox run.
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.
Evidence74.125.69.94 · 204.79.197.203 · 209.197.3.8
0 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
- MSPAINT.EXE
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- No verified publisher
- Size
- 965.0 KB
- Last analyzed
- Jul 9, 2026, 9:24 AM UTC
94aa32a2c9c1d2db78318d9c68262c2f834abe26b6e9a661700324b55fdd5709Safety & 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 MSPAINT.EXE safe?
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Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.