Safe
Legitimate Bitwarden password manager installer, signed by trusted publisher, clean across our antivirus network with expected installation behavior.
b8b932755a5de03ef4…98a1ea5296The reasoning behind this verdict
The MT AI Engine weighs every signal from this scan — antivirus detections, sandbox behaviour, code signing, prevalence and historical matches — to reach a single, evidence-based verdict.
No detections from 72 engines including 17 tier-1 scanners confirm this file is safe. The Bitwarden Inc. signature matches our trusted publisher list, aligning with the filename and version. Sandbox behavior shows standard installer actions like tasklist checks and downloads from official domains/IPs, explaining the MITRE flags and heuristics. Medium prevalence supports it as commodity software without red flags from children, contacts, or intel.
Each signal cites a concrete token from the evidence the arbiter saw — engine name, MITRE technique, signer string, or an exact count.
signing.trustedPublisher.matched=true ('Bitwarden')
engines.malicious=0/72, tier1Malicious=0
contactedUrls[0]='https://artifacts.bitwarden.com/desktop/bitwarden-2026.2.1-x64.nsis.7z'
behaviour.hasMaliciousSandboxVerdict=false, droppedChildren.hasMaliciousChild=false
- Trusted Bitwarden publisher match
- Zero malicious engine detections
- Official artifact downloads
- Medium prevalence (262 subs)
- No malicious sandbox/child verdicts
- Heuristic flags on process injection (T1055) and LSASS observation
- Direct IP contacts (legit CDNs)
This file is safe and appears to be the genuine Bitwarden installer. Run it confidently if downloaded from official channels.
What to do now
This file looks safe based on everything we checked.
This file is safe to use.
Good habit: only download files from the official website or an app store.
Keep your antivirus and Windows updates switched on so you stay protected.
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.
- 199.232.197.91
- 104.18.21.213
- 162.159.36.2
- http://r13.c.lencr.org/68.crl
- https://artifacts.bitwarden.com/desktop/bitwarden-2026.2.1-x64.nsis.7z
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nsmC38F.tmp\System.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nsmC38F.tmp\UAC.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nsmC38F.tmp\StdUtils.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nsmC38F.tmp\modern-wizard.bmp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nsmC38F.tmp\nsDialogs.dll
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nsmC38F.tmp\package.7z
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nskD216.tmp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\nsfD246.tmp
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\nsf80BA.tmp
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\nsz8099.tmp
- 173a9bac-6f0d-50c4-8202-4744c69d091a
- \Sessions\1\BaseNamedObjects\173a9bac-6f0d-50c4-8202-4744c69d091a
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 7 children at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- 3eb38ae99653a7dbc724…f2eacaNever scannednever seen before
- 1e40211af65923c2f4fd…632172Never scannednever seen before
- ed04a4823f221e9197b8…6c810aNever scannednever seen before
- 35176dd40612d7542af4…1cacf8Never scannednever seen before
- 2f7f8fc05dc4fd0d5cda…52dc08Never scannednever seen before
- b72e9013a6204e9f0107…31601eNever scannednever seen before
- 5d9ceb1ce5f35aea5f9e…58b962Never scannednever seen before
YARA & heuristic rule matches
A researcher-curated or high-severity heuristic rule matched this sample. These rules target specific malware families and are near-definitive.
MITRE T1055 (Process Injection) observed — CreateRemoteThread / APC / reflective-DLL injection. The payload is being smuggled into a legitimate process to bypass AV hooks.
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.exeSample contacted 3 external IP address(es) and zero domains. Benign software virtually always uses DNS; no-DNS direct-IP C2 is a strong malware indicator because it bypasses reputation systems and dodges domain-based blocklists.
Evidence199.232.197.91 · 104.18.21.213 · 162.159.36.2
0 detections across 76 engines
Section entropy & packers
Section-level entropy and packer detection from the PE header. Nothing suspicious here — entropy is within the normal range for unpacked code.
How widely this file has been seen
Moderate prevalence — neither rare nor common. No strong prior applies.
Forensic fingerprint
- File name
- Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe
- Size
- 714.9 KB
- MIME type
- (unknown)
- Detected type
- Win32 EXE
- SHA-256
- b8b932755a5de03ef41e13a0332c4cd50437dda2da10d7ec5633ed98a1ea5296
- MD5
- 70b52776f2167d8a0a224f244cf19450
- SHA-1
- 54f3734732ab0caecf0ca04b15c9de20c71d014d
- PE imphash
- b34f154ec913d2d2c435cbd644e91687
- First seen (VT)
- 3/5/2026, 9:04:03 AM
- Last analysis (VT)
- 4/12/2026, 12:50:59 AM
- First scan (MalwareTips)
- 5/6/2026, 8:23:00 AM
- Last scan (MalwareTips)
- 5/6/2026, 8:23:00 AM
- Code signer
- Bitwarden Inc.verified
Safety FAQ
Common questions about Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe, answered from the scan data above.
- Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe appears safe. 76 of 76 antivirus engines report it clean. It carries a verified digital signature from Bitwarden Inc.. As a habit, only run files you downloaded from the official source, since attackers sometimes distribute trojanised copies of legitimate software under the same name.
- Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe is a Windows executable program, about 715 KB. Our analysis found no threat indicators for it. It carries a verified digital signature from Bitwarden Inc.. A file's name can be reused by different files, so we identify it by its cryptographic hash (below).
- None — all 76 antivirus engines we queried report Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe as clean. That's reassuring, though brand-new malware can briefly evade detection before vendors add signatures, so we also weigh the file's behaviour and reputation.
- Yes — Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe carries a valid digital signature from Bitwarden Inc., which confirms the file hasn't been tampered with since that publisher signed it. A valid signature is a positive signal, but note that malware is occasionally signed with stolen or abused certificates, so it isn't proof of safety on its own.
- The SHA-256 hash of Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe is b8b932755a5de03ef41e13a0332c4cd50437dda2da10d7ec5633ed98a1ea5296, and its MD5 is 70b52776f2167d8a0a224f244cf19450. This hash is the file's unique fingerprint — two files with the same SHA-256 are identical. Use it to confirm you're looking at exactly this file (not just one with the same name) when comparing against antivirus databases or a download's published checksum.
- Based on this scan, yes — Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe shows no threat indicators and is properly signed. The important caveat is source: make sure you downloaded it from the official website or a trusted store, because attackers sometimes distribute malware-laced copies under a legitimate file's name. If your own antivirus flags it while we report it clean, that is most often a false positive, but verify the source before overriding your antivirus.
- This report reflects the scan run on May 6, 2026. Because a file's hash never changes, the identity of Bitwarden-Installer-2026.2.1.exe is fixed — but antivirus coverage improves over time, so a file that looks clean today can pick up detections later (and vice-versa). If you need the latest picture, MalwareTips staff can re-run the analysis from scratch.
Reviews & malware reports(0)
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