Is SpecialK_26.8.12.exe safe?
Unsigned Inno Setup executable with process-injection behaviour and three prior imphash matches flagged as OfferCore PUA.
Five of 75 engines flagged the file, none tier-1. The binary is unsigned, shows T1055 process injection, and shares its imphash with previously seen OfferCore samples. No malicious sandbox verdict or known-bad host contact was recorded.
cd88fd17311844e959…ba685c782d096fRecommended 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.
Five of 75 engines flagged the file, none tier-1. The binary is unsigned, shows T1055 process injection, and shares its imphash with previously seen OfferCore samples. No malicious sandbox verdict or known-bad host contact was recorded.
The detection pattern is low-trust only, yet the combination of unsigned status, T1055 activity, and three malicious imphash matches in similarHashes outweighs the clean contacted-host result. Prevalence is common_new, indicating the file is circulating, but the lack of a trusted publisher and the offensive technique keep the risk elevated. The evidence supports a suspicious classification rather than outright malicious or safe.
What We Detected
5 of 75 engines reported malicious labels; none were tier-1. The file is an unsigned 13 MB Inno Setup executable that drops a temporary copy and spawns DllHost.exe, mapping to MITRE T1055. Three of five prior files sharing the same imphash were previously classified malicious with OfferCore family tags.
Threat Behavior
Runtime evidence shows process injection and direct-IP contact to 184.28.3.247. No malicious sandbox verdict was returned and the single inspected dropped child was clean. Contacted URLs point to legitimate Microsoft redistributable endpoints.
What To Do Now
Do not run the file on production systems. If installation is required, execute it in an isolated environment and monitor for additional dropped payloads or registry changes.
Where this verdict could be wrong1 caveat
- contactedHosts.hits[0].verdict=safe for aka.ms (Microsoft redistributable URLs)
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- tier-1 engines silent
- contacted Microsoft no complete contacted-host reputation result was available
- no malicious dropped children
- unsigned executable
- T1055 process injection observed
- imphash matches prior OfferCore samples
Treat as potentially unwanted; scan any system where it has run and avoid execution without strong isolation.
Coverage & freshness
Complete means the check returned a usable result. It does not mean the file is safe.
Antivirus
Complete5 of 75 engines flagged the file.
Sandbox
Complete1 isolated runtime environment contributed observations.
Network
Partial1 of 2 contacted hosts were cross-checked; coverage is incomplete.
YARA
Complete2 signature or behavior rules matched.
External intel
PartialIndependent reference checks were attempted but are incomplete.
Behavior
Plain-English impact first, then the observed runtime evidence.
Runtime flight recorder
Capture complete- 1isolated sandbox run
- 7MITRE ATT&CK techniques
- 6spawned processes
- 5network contacts
- 4filesystem & mutex artifacts
What this file does
Observed actions and their security significance
High concern: Injected code into another process, a technique that can conceal execution.
Moderate concern: Contained obfuscated or packed code that makes inspection harder.
Moderate concern: Communicated over a common application protocol; malware can use this for command-and-control.
Note: Reads your Windows user-account details.
Note: Collects details about your system.
Note: Loads extra code modules while running.
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
SpecialK_26.8.12.exe
cd88fd17311844e959c4fb0435b3a97abb9b64dc2cafd1ceabba685c782d096f
01Uploaded file
Processes
Runtime execution
- ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\SpecialK_26.8.12.exe"
02Isolated runtime analysis - ProcessObserved
Observed process
"C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-5BD3SOY0G2.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp" /SL5="$40070,10833241,1001984,C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\SpecialK_26.8.12.exe"
03Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Files
Created or changed
- Written fileObserved
SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-5BD3SOY0G2.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
04Isolated runtime analysis - Written fileObserved
SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-R4DXK9W7BX.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
05Isolated runtime analysis - +1 more recorded observation in Analyst mode
Network
Hosts contacted
- Contacted hostObserved
184.28.3.247
Contact observed during runtime.
06Isolated runtime analysis - Contacted hostDerived
aka.ms
Saved reputation verdict: safe.
07Contacted-host cross-check - +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.
- 184.28.3.247
- https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x86.exe
- https://aka.ms/vs/18/release/vc_redist.x86.exe
- https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe
- https://aka.ms/vs/18/release/vc_redist.x64.exe
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-5BD3SOY0G2.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
- C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-R4DXK9W7BX.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\is-AWSLAPU5AH.tmp
- C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\is-AWSLAPU5AH.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
Files this sample writes at runtime
This file drops 1 child at runtime. None are currently flagged malicious in our cache.
- 90f73d14b7f2a163107e…fc3098Never 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
- 5 / 75engines flagged
- 179sources in submission history
Why these facts are shown
Each statement identifies whether it was directly recorded or derived from saved scan facts.
- 01
1 high-confidence signature or behavior rule matched this file.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceDerivedSourceSignature and behavior rulesObserved at - 02
5 of 75 antivirus engines flagged the file, including AhnLab-V3 and APEX.
Verdict inputView chapterProvenanceObservedSourceAntivirus analysisObserved at - 03
The hash has been submitted 219 times from 179 sources.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceSaved report factsObserved at - 04
Scanned file: SpecialK_26.8.12.exe — cd88fd17311844e959c4fb0435b3a97abb9b64dc2cafd1ceabba685c782d096f
ProvenanceObservedSourceUploaded fileObserved at - 05
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\SpecialK_26.8.12.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 06
Observed process — "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-5BD3SOY0G2.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp" /SL5="$40070,10833241,1001984,C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\SpecialK_26.8.12.exe"
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 07
File written: SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-5BD3SOY0G2.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 08
File written: SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp — C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\is-R4DXK9W7BX.tmp\SpecialK_26.8.12.tmp
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 09
Contacted host: 184.28.3.247 — Contact observed during runtime.
ProvenanceObservedSourceIsolated runtime analysisObserved at - 10
Contacted host: aka.ms — Saved reputation verdict: safe.
ProvenanceDerivedSourceContacted-host cross-checkObserved at
Detection sources at a glance
Category: pua
Available reference checks returned no match, but at least one source was unavailable. This is not a clean result.
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.
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\system32\DllHost.exe /Processid:{F32D97DF-E3E5-4CB9-9E3E-0EB5B4E49801}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.
Evidence184.28.3.247
5 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
Lots of people are uploading this but it's recent — typical of newly-released legitimate software. Low prior for malware.
Fingerprint and provenance
- File name
- SpecialK_26.8.12.exe
- Format
- Win32 EXE
- Code signing
- No verified publisher
- Size
- 12.8 MB
- Last analyzed
- Sep 6, 2026, 4:41 AM UTC
cd88fd17311844e959c4fb0435b3a97abb9b64dc2cafd1ceabba685c782d096fSafety & 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 SpecialK_26.8.12.exe safe, or is it malware?
What is SpecialK_26.8.12.exe?
How many antivirus engines detected SpecialK_26.8.12.exe?
I already downloaded and ran SpecialK_26.8.12.exe — what should I do?
How do I remove SpecialK_26.8.12.exe?
What kind of malware is SpecialK_26.8.12.exe?
What is the SHA-256 hash of SpecialK_26.8.12.exe?
How up to date is this analysis of SpecialK_26.8.12.exe?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.