Our call: Is zzz_fix16c.exe safe?Suspicious
This unsigned executable exhibits suspicious network behavior and is associated with multiple malware families in community research, despite a lack of consensus among high-trust antivirus engines.
- 3 of 74 antivirus engines flagged the file, including APEX and SentinelOne.Observed · Antivirus analysis
- The hash has a long, established submission history across 453 sources.Derived · Submission history
- The hash has been submitted 515 times from 453 sources.Derived · Saved report facts
9f094f46dbca3554f5…77f333a2beRecommended 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.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete3 of 74 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Partial20 runtime contacts were observed without a completed reputation cross-check.
YARA
Complete1 signature or behavior rule matched.
External intel
Complete3 of 3 independent reference sources completed.
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
zzz_fix16c.exe
9f094f46dbca3554f51ea8d232db2b912b224b265b56cca010d25f77f333a2be
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
%SAMPLEPATH%\9f094f46dbca3554f51ea8d232db2b912b224b265b56cca010d25f77f333a2be.exe
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
VCRUNTIME140.dll
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\VCRUNTIME140.dll
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
_bz2.pyd
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\_bz2.pyd
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostObserved
20.99.133.109
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis - Contacted hostObserved
23.55.140.42
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.
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
3 of 74 antivirus engines flagged the file, including APEX and SentinelOne.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 02
The hash has a long, established submission history across 453 sources.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceSubmission historyObserved at - 03
The hash has been submitted 515 times from 453 sources.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceSaved report factsObserved at - 04
Scanned file: zzz_fix16c.exe — 9f094f46dbca3554f51ea8d232db2b912b224b265b56cca010d25f77f333a2be
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\program.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — %SAMPLEPATH%\9f094f46dbca3554f51ea8d232db2b912b224b265b56cca010d25f77f333a2be.exe
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: VCRUNTIME140.dll — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\VCRUNTIME140.dll
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: _bz2.pyd — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\_bz2.pyd
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: 20.99.133.109 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 10
Contacted host: 23.55.140.42 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at
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 file is unsigned and shows suspicious network activity, including direct-IP connections. While high-trust engines have not reached a consensus, community research and external analysis platforms strongly suggest this file is associated with various malware families.
Our analysis identifies this file as suspicious due to its unsigned status and the presence of direct-IP network connections, which triggered heuristic warnings. Although 17 tier-1 engines currently report the file as clean, the community annotations and external research reports provide significant evidence linking this hash to known malware families. The combination of these factors, alongside the lack of a verified publisher, necessitates a cautious approach. Users should maintain active endpoint protection and avoid executing this file.
What We Detected
The file zzz_fix16c.exe is an unsigned Win32 executable. While 71 of 74 engines did not flag it as malicious, the 3 detections present include labels such as BehavesLike.Win64.Dropper.wc and Static AI - Suspicious PE. Community researchers have associated this specific hash with multiple malware families, including Cobalt Strike and IcedID.
Threat Behavior
During sandbox analysis, the file exhibited ambient system discovery techniques and initiated multiple direct-IP connections. These connections triggered a heuristic warning for potential command-and-control activity. No malicious children were dropped during the observation, but the file's behavior is consistent with a dropper or downloader.
What To Do Now
We recommend keeping all endpoint security software enabled and fully updated. Do not execute this file, as its unsigned nature and association with known malware families present a significant security risk. If this file was obtained from an untrusted source, delete it immediately and perform a full system scan.
Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
- 17 tier-1 engines reported the file as clean, suggesting that high-trust detection coverage is currently silent.
- No malicious children were identified during the sandbox execution, and no offensive MITRE techniques were explicitly confirmed.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- 17 tier-1 engines reported clean
- no malicious children dropped in sandbox
- no offensive MITRE techniques confirmed
- unsigned executable
- direct-IP network connections
- community-reported malware associations
- heuristic detection of dropper behavior
Do not execute this file. Keep all endpoint protection enabled and perform a full system scan if the file was already present on the system.
Behavior
Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.
What this file does
Observed actions and their security significance
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: 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.
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.
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.
- 20.99.133.109
- 23.55.140.42
- 192.168.0.33
- 151.101.22.172
- 184.27.218.92
- 192.168.0.25
- a83f:8110:100:0:436f:6e66:6967:7572
- 104.98.118.152
- 23.196.145.221
- 20.24.125.47
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\VCRUNTIME140.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\_bz2.pyd
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\_decimal.pyd
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\_hashlib.pyd
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI66802\_lzma.pyd
- %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\IE\KLT1I0ZU\update50[1].xml
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\Local\SessionImmersiveColorMutex
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 10 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- 1627b921934053f1f7d2…81f235Never scannednever seen before
- cfb2ee4e426bb00b7616…51e0e5Never scannednever seen before
- 03bd3217eae0ef68521b…b81862Never scannednever seen before
- 0d22ce9d987efd6886a8…2c9827Never scannednever seen before
- 411d6f538bdbaf60f1a1…742019Never scannednever seen before
- e36b72eafffffb09b3f3…a937a5Never scannednever seen before
- 05fe080eab7fc535c51e…3f99deNever scannednever seen before
- f7c5d7394643c95fe14c…9f2af1Never scannednever seen before
- 6c0e0d22b65329f4948f…86eed0Never scannednever seen before
- ef77b3e4fdff944f9290…2abfffNever scannednever seen before
Detection & Forensics
Consensus, attribution, signatures, code structure, prevalence, and identity.
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
Behavioral heuristics matched patterns associated with malware. Corroborating evidence determines how much weight they carry.
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.
Evidence20.99.133.109 · 23.55.140.42 · 151.101.22.172
3 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
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
- zzz_fix16c.exe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- No verified publisher
- Size
- 7.7 MB
- Last analyzed
- Jul 28, 2026, 11:28 PM UTC
9f094f46dbca3554f51ea8d232db2b912b224b265b56cca010d25f77f333a2beSafety & 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.
Don't run it unless you're certain it came from a source you trust.
Check where you got it — an unexpected attachment or a random download link is a red flag.
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.
If you're still unsure, scan it again in a day or two — detections often catch up on newer files.