Is avira.exe safe?
A valid Avira signature and 0/74 detections are reassuring, but process-injection, persistence, credential-access, and numerous YARA signals warrant caution.
The executable carries a valid Avira Operations GmbH signature, matches its claimed brand, and triggered none of 74 antivirus engines. However, one sandbox run mapped activity to process injection, token manipulation, and startup persistence, while 19 community YARA rules matched; use only a copy obtained directly from Avira.
98103ff3f7ac475b6d…be72c9b47201edRecommended next actions
Before running
Do not run it until the source and publisher can be verified independently.
If you already ran it
Stop using it, scan the device, and watch for unexpected behavior or security alerts. Get a fresh copy from the developer's official site or an official app store.
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 valid Avira Operations GmbH signature, matches its claimed brand, and triggered none of 74 antivirus engines. However, one sandbox run mapped activity to process injection, token manipulation, and startup persistence, while 19 community YARA rules matched; use only a copy obtained directly from Avira.
No antivirus engine detected the sample, including all 17 tier-1 engines, and its verified Avira Operations GmbH signature matches the product identity. Its moderate prevalence and lack of a confirmed malicious dropped child further support a legitimate Avira installer. However, the completed sandbox recorded T1055, T1134, and T1547.001, along with scheduled-task creation and reported LSASS targeting. Nineteen YARA rules also matched, including generic process-injection and PowerShell detectors, which prevents treating the scan results as conclusive. The sandbox issued no malicious verdict, and no engine or curated source corroborated the community's Redline attribution. Host-reputation coverage was incomplete because only one host was inspected despite multiple observed network contacts.
What We Detected
The file is signed with a verified certificate belonging to Avira Operations GmbH, and no brand mismatch was found. None of 74 antivirus engines flagged it, including all 17 tier-1 engines. It has also appeared in 2,096 submissions from 1,768 sources, which is more consistent with distributed commercial software than an isolated sample.
Threat Behavior
One completed sandbox run recorded techniques mapped to T1055, T1134, and T1547.001. It also created an Avira installation scheduled task, and a heuristic reported activity involving LSASS. Some low-level monitoring and persistence behavior can occur in endpoint-security products, but these observations remain meaningful risk factors. YARAify reported 19 matching rules, including CP_Script_Inject_Detector and detect_powershell; these are not a confirmed malware-family attribution, and the sandbox itself produced no malicious verdict. Ten dropped children were inspected without a confirmed malicious result, but their individual verdicts remain unknown. Only one observed host received a saved reputation check, so the multiple IP and URL contacts do not have complete reputation coverage.
What To Do Now
Use this executable only if it was downloaded directly from Avira's official release channel and its certificate still validates locally. If its origin is uncertain, quarantine it and obtain a fresh installer from the vendor rather than running this copy; keep endpoint protection enabled.
Where this verdict could be wrong4 caveats
- The verified 'Avira Operations GmbH' signature and 0/74 engine detections weigh against the behavioral and YARA concerns.
- behaviour.hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict=false, so the completed sandbox did not issue a malicious runtime verdict.
- Community annotations name Redline, but communityComments have zero votes and no engine family consensus or curated family hit corroborates that attribution.
- droppedChildren.hasMaliciousChild=false, although the 10 inspected children have unknown rather than confirmed-clean verdicts.
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 reported a detection.
- All 17 tier-1 engines reported no detection.
- The certificate for 'Avira Operations GmbH' is verified.
- brandMismatch=null, so the claimed identity matches the signer.
- behaviour.hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict=false and droppedChildren.hasMaliciousChild=false.
- One sandbox run mapped activity to T1055 process injection.
- T1134 token-manipulation and T1547.001 startup-persistence techniques were recorded.
- MalwareTips.Synth.CredentialDumper reported LSASS-targeting process activity.
- externalIntel.yaraify.ruleCount=19 includes process-injection and PowerShell-related rules.
- The contacted-host reputation check covered only 1 host despite multiple observed contacts.
- File reputation is -13.
Run it only if obtained directly from Avira and the Avira Operations GmbH signature validates on your system. Otherwise, quarantine this copy, download a fresh official installer, and keep endpoint protection enabled.
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
Partial1 of 7 contacted hosts were cross-checked; coverage is incomplete.
YARA
Complete9 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
- 30MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 15spawned processes
- 7network contacts
- 31filesystem & mutex artifacts
What this file does
Observed actions and their security significance
High concern: Created or modified a scheduled task, which can provide persistence.
High concern: Injected code into another process, a technique that can conceal execution.
High concern: Changed an auto-start location that can make code run after sign-in or restart.
Moderate concern: Contained obfuscated or packed code that makes inspection harder.
Moderate concern: Runs hidden system commands (script or shell).
Moderate concern: Removed execution artefacts or logs, which can conceal activity.
Moderate concern: Communicated over a common application protocol; malware can use this for command-and-control.
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.
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
avira.exe
98103ff3f7ac475b6d51384c82613633683101fc7b189649b7be72c9b47201ed
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\ra_en_sptl1_e8bf8a54c3e6f8f0__pavw10ws-spotlight-release.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Windows\system32\schtasks.exe" /Create /Xml "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.11843\Avira_Security_Installation.xml" /F /TN "Avira_Security_Installation"
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
Avira_Spotlight_Bootstrapper_Presetup_2026-04_21_09_57_11.log
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\Avira_Spotlight_Bootstrapper_Presetup_2026-04_21_09_57_11.log
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
ACSSIGNEDIC.EXE
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.3880\ACSSIGNEDIC.EXE
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostObserved
54.160.83.219
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis - Contacted hostObserved
18.197.73.88
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.
- 54.160.83.219
- 18.197.73.88
- 8.8.8.8
- 184.73.202.182
- 92.223.96.6
- 162.159.36.2
- https://dispatch.avira-update.com/
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\Avira_Spotlight_Bootstrapper_Presetup_2026-04_21_09_57_11.log
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.3880\ACSSIGNEDIC.EXE
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.3880\ANTIVIRUSSETUP.INF
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.3880\AVIRA.COMMON.GUARDS.DLL
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.3880\AVIRA.COMMON.MIXPANEL.DLL
- C:\Windows\Tasks\Avira_Security_Installation.job
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\KnownGameList.bin
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\GameDVR\KnownGameList.update
- %TEMP%\.cr.9904\avira_security_installation.xml
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\Cab9413.tmp
- Global\Avira.Spotlight.Bootstrapper.Presetup
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Global\Avira.Spotlight.Bootstrapper.Presetup
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Local\__DDrawCheckExclMode__
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Global\RasPbFile
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Local\__DDrawExclMode__
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 10 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- d1fae6cbd78bbda91707…5f7e3fNever scannednever seen before
- 5f988adcd4381887f6ad…42bb59Never scannednever seen before
- eb860dfc1652d5fa0ab4…6aaa1dNever scannednever seen before
- 2326f85fd4d3f4365f34…b5dd30Never scannednever seen before
- dabe8c550a2e45b0798f…d28fbdNever scannednever seen before
- 5b86d342b8360e6bd31c…4ec771Never scannednever seen before
- ea3f2fa77ed0263f6139…c91935Never scannednever seen before
- 9c43170724c34412dc22…9e15dcNever scannednever seen before
- d198614b14efe53a3063…c4656fNever scannednever seen before
- 6ea9d61e1de1ae565afa…c52eb2Never 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.
- 9rule hits recorded
- 0 / 74engines flagged
- 1,768sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
6 high-confidence signature or behavior rules matched this file.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceSignature and behavior rulesObserved at - 02
0 of 74 antivirus engines flagged the file.
ProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 03
The file has a valid code signature from Avira Operations GmbH.
ProvenanceObservedSourceCode-signing metadataObserved at - 04
Scanned file: avira.exe — 98103ff3f7ac475b6d51384c82613633683101fc7b189649b7be72c9b47201ed
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\ra_en_sptl1_e8bf8a54c3e6f8f0__pavw10ws-spotlight-release.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — "C:\Windows\system32\schtasks.exe" /Create /Xml "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.11843\Avira_Security_Installation.xml" /F /TN "Avira_Security_Installation"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: Avira_Spotlight_Bootstrapper_Presetup_2026-04_21_09_57_11.log — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\Avira_Spotlight_Bootstrapper_Presetup_2026-04_21_09_57_11.log
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: ACSSIGNEDIC.EXE — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.3880\ACSSIGNEDIC.EXE
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: 54.160.83.219 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 10
Contacted host: 18.197.73.88 — 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
A community signature or high-severity behavioral heuristic matched. Signatures identify known patterns; heuristics are strong leads but are not proof on their own.
- Any_SU_Domain
- CP_Script_Inject_Detector
- DebuggerCheck__API
- DebuggerCheck__QueryInfo
- detect_powershell
Sample spawned schtasks / PowerShell scheduled-task cmdlets / sc create. Persistence mechanism.
Evidence"C:\Windows\system32\schtasks.exe" /Create /Xml "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\.CR.11843\Avira_Security_Installation.xml" /F /TN "Avira_Security_Installation"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\Explorer.EXESandbox 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.exeThe 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.
Evidence54.160.83.219 · 18.197.73.88 · 184.73.202.182
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
Moderate prevalence — neither rare nor common. No strong prior applies.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- avira.exe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- Signature valid: Avira Operations GmbH
- Size
- 6.5 MB
- Last analyzed
- Sep 17, 2026, 2:58 PM UTC
98103ff3f7ac475b6d51384c82613633683101fc7b189649b7be72c9b47201edSafety & FAQ
Complete recovery guidance and answers for the next decision.
What to do now
We couldn't fully clear this file. Treat it with caution.
- Recovery step 01
Don't run it unless you're certain it came from a source you trust.
- Recovery step 02
Check where you got it — an unexpected attachment or a random download link is a red flag.
- Recovery step 03
If its origin cannot be confirmed, delete this file and use a fresh copy from a trusted source. Get a fresh copy from the developer's official site or an official app store.
- Recovery step 04
If you're still unsure, scan it again in a day or two — detections often catch up on newer files.
Safety FAQ
Direct answers grounded in the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is avira.exe safe, or is it malware?
What is avira.exe?
How many antivirus engines detected avira.exe?
I already downloaded and ran avira.exe — what should I do?
How do I remove avira.exe?
Is avira.exe digitally signed?
What is the SHA-256 hash of avira.exe?
How up to date is this analysis of avira.exe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.