File verdict·Decided by the MT AI Engine
Our call

Suspicious

Unsigned MSI with clean engine results but sandbox-detected process injection and LSASS access.

Trust score45Caution
MT AI confidence · 65%
HardwareVisualizer_1.8.1_x64_en-US.msi
6.2 MB
afe11244e96c0e3fa842836798e5
Antivirus engines
0 of 75 flagged
Code signing
Unsigned
Age
First seen 24 days ago
MT AI Engine · our arbiter

The verdict, reasoned out.

Not a rules engine. The MT AI Engine reads every signal we collected, weighs them against history, and commits to an answer.

65%Confidence
High
Reasoning

Zero malicious detections across 61 reporting engines including all tier-1 vendors rules out widespread malware consensus. However the two offensive MITRE techniques and corresponding synthetic heuristics indicate suspicious runtime activity targeting LSASS and remote thread creation. Being unsigned and only 12 days old with minimal prevalence further reduces trust. The combination of clean static signals and concerning behavioural signals produces a borderline case best classified suspicious rather than safe or malicious.

Key signals · 5

Each signal cites a concrete token from the evidence the arbiter saw — engine name, MITRE technique, signer string, or an exact count.

  1. engines: 0 malicious out of 75 (Microsoft, BitDefender, Kaspersky, ESET-NOD32 all undetected)

  2. behaviour.offensiveTechniques: T1055, T1548 observed in sandbox

  3. triggeredHeuristics[0]: MalwareTips.Synth.ProcessInjection fired (evidence: svchost.exe)

  4. prevalence.classification: rare_new with 3 submitters

  5. signing.verified: false (unsigned MSI)

Points in its favour
  • Zero detections from 75 engines
  • No malicious dropped children
  • No contacted malicious hosts
Points against
  • Unsigned installer
  • Sandbox observed LSASS access
  • Process injection techniques recorded
  • Rare new prevalence (3 submissions)
What to do

Treat as suspicious pending further behavioural analysis or a signed release from the vendor.

Runtime behaviour

What this file did when executed

This file was detonated in 1 sandbox and its runtime behaviour was observed.

MITRE ATT&CK
8

Adversary techniques mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

T1033T1036T1055T1071T1082T1091T1120T1548
Spawned processes
10
$(unnamed)
"C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe" /I "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\HardwareVisualizer_1.8.1_x64_en-US.msi" /qb ACCEPTEULA=1 LicenseAccepted=1
$(unnamed)
C:\Windows\system32\services.exe
$(unnamed)
C:\Windows\system32\msiexec.exe /V
$(unnamed)
C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService -p
$(unnamed)
C:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe -k UnistackSvcGroup
$(unnamed)
C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k LocalSystemNetworkRestricted -p -s StorSvc
$(unnamed)
C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe
$(unnamed)
C:\Windows\system32\svchost.exe -k LocalService -s W32Time
+2 more processes captured.
Filesystem & mutexes
25
Files written15
  • C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\ngen.log
  • C:\Windows\Temp\~DF76BEA12B2B1B07C9.TMP
  • C:\Windows\Temp\~DF761DEE14FD02EB44.TMP
  • C:\Windows\Temp\~DFB1B372B70F233664.TMP
  • C:\Windows\Temp\~DFD250934D3081A0A9.TMP
+10 more
Files deleted8
  • C:\Config.Msi\CMPE1C4.tmp
  • C:\Config.Msi
  • C:\Windows\Installer\dc97.msi
  • C:\Config.Msi\CMPE55E.tmp
  • C:\Config.Msi\dc96.rbs
+3 more
Mutexes created2
  • Global\_MSIExecute
  • \BaseNamedObjects\Local\SM0:6996:304:WilStaging_02
Dropped payload

Files this sample writes at runtime

This file drops 8 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.

8 unseen
  • 8fdc8d3d12876b6c9dc89a3191Never scanned
    never seen before
  • 24aa985d01d4123e0b3fe17263Never scanned
    never seen before
  • 01960077670b151ba514ea9708Never scanned
    never seen before
  • 31ef6d0daf229a90ed46ceee49Never scanned
    never seen before
  • ca286b2289d28013520c8704bbNever scanned
    never seen before
  • 325b0aa212d9245293f025922cNever scanned
    never seen before
  • dd591596e8f8f1658e75eea0d2Never scanned
    never seen before
  • 1c119febd5f388f46b9137a319Never scanned
    never seen before
No researcher-database hits
External threat-intel sources were not collected for this scan.
Signature matches

YARA + heuristic rules that fired

A researcher-curated or high-severity heuristic rule matched this sample. These rules target specific malware families and are near-definitive.

2 synthesis
MITRE ATT&CK profile
Defense evasion× 1Cred access× 1
MalwareTips synthesis rules
Our heuristics on VT data + sandbox behaviour
  • ProcessInjectionhigh

    MITRE T1055 (Process Injection) observed — CreateRemoteThread / APC / reflective-DLL injection. The payload is being smuggled into a legitimate process to bypass AV hooks.

    Evidence
    C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService -p
  • CredentialDumpermedium

    Sandbox observed process activity targeting LSASS (Windows credential store). Legitimate software has no business reading LSASS memory — this is Mimikatz-shape behaviour.

    Evidence
    C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe
Antivirus engine breakdown

0 detections across 75 engines

0 malicious0 suspicious75 clean
Tier-117 engines
0flag
Top commercial AVs (low FP rate)
Tier-238 engines
0flag
Mainstream engines with mixed FP rates
Low-trust20 engines
0flag
Heuristic / generic-AI engines (high FP rate)
All 75 engines report this file as clean.
Hash afe11244e96c… cross-referenced against 75 AV engines via our AV network.
Prevalence

How often this file shows up in the wild

Barely seen in the wild and first surfaced recently. This is the footprint of targeted malware the AV industry hasn't signatured yet — extra scrutiny is warranted.

Rare & new
Unique uploaders
3
Very few people have ever uploaded this — rare.
Total submissions
3
Includes repeat uploads by the same source.
First seen by VT
23d ago
May 11, 2026
Prevalence quadrant
here
Rare · New
Targeted malware lives here
Common · New
Just-released software
Rare · Old
Niche or internal tooling
Common · Old
Trusted legitimate binaries
File identity

Forensic fingerprint

File biography
First seen (VT)
5/11/2026, 4:41:38 AM
First seen (MalwareBazaar)
Last analysis (VT)
5/12/2026, 6:34:40 AM
Scanned here
5/23/2026, 7:26:28 AM
File name
HardwareVisualizer_1.8.1_x64_en-US.msi
Size
6.16 MB
MIME type
(unknown)
Detected type
Windows Installer
SHA-256
afe11244e96c0e3fa8d60b1c58a587aa5cb063eac18a2d075d498842836798e5
MD5
c2e2b57ddcf92a2d9ad6bf9018ead90e
SHA-1
f0a687430a41b5f04bd26b39502b36e1d4ca1730
First seen (VT)
5/11/2026, 4:41:38 AM
Last analysis (VT)
5/12/2026, 6:34:40 AM
First scan (MalwareTips)
5/23/2026, 7:26:28 AM
Last scan (MalwareTips)
5/23/2026, 7:26:28 AM
Behavior tags
msichecks-usb-bus
Community classification

Reviews & malware reports(0)

Tell the community what you saw. Tag the sample — Trojan, Adware, False Positive — and share what the file did on your system. Your report helps confirm or dispute the AV verdict.

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