File scan report
Verdict Safe
Is steam_
None of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged this widely submitted Steam API DLL, though it is UPX-packed and its claimed Valve signature fails verification as…
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Strong evidence · Widely seen for a long time, and nothing harmful found.
No malicious content was found, but this is a modified rather than official Valve library. Keep it only if it came with a game you trust, and keep your antivirus enabled.
Good practice2 tips
We found nothing harmful in this file.
Use it only as part of a program you got from the developer's own website.
Keep your antivirus and Windows updates switched on.
No scanner can promise a file is 100% safe.
Reads the latest antivirus results for this file's hash. Nothing is uploaded.
Antivirus results
0 of 70 flagged
- Flagged 0
- No detection 70
- No result 5
- Code signing Signer not verified
- Test run Completed
- First seen 4y ago
Chapter 02
Why we think so
3 points against it and 4 in its favour, checked against the scan evidence.
The reasoning behind this verdict
More than 3,000 sources have submitted it since it was first seen on Nov 30, 2021, and the sandbox runs showed no high-risk behaviour. Its Valve signature fails verification because the file was modified after signing, which points to a repacked or unofficial Steam API library rather than Valve's original.
All 18 major antivirus engines and every other reporting engine returned no detection. The file is widely spread, with 3,199 distinct submitters over several years, and the combined sandbox verdict was clean with no injection or high-risk techniques. The contacted hosts belong only to the analysis machine's background traffic, and none is known to be malicious. The signature claims Valve Corp. but failed verification as tampered, and the DLL is UPX-packed. That fits a modified Steam API library, often used by unofficial game copies, rather than malware. Two automated third-party analyses called it malicious, but they rest on packing and signature tags rather than observed harm.
What We Detected
None of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged this 64-bit DLL. That includes all 18 major antivirus engines such as Kaspersky, ESET and BitDefender. It has been submitted by 3,199 sources and was first seen on Nov 30, 2021. The signature claims Valve Corp. but failed verification because the file was modified after signing, and the code is UPX-packed.
Threat Behavior
The combined sandbox verdict was clean. The runs show only the library being loaded through rundll32 and its Steam API exports being called. No process injection, persistence or high-risk techniques were recorded. Network contacts were the analysis machine's own background traffic.
What To Do Now
The evidence shows no malicious content. This is not an original Valve file, though, so keep it only if it belongs to a game you trust. Prefer files from the official Steam client, and keep your antivirus enabled.
Where this verdict could be wrong2 caveats
- The signature claims Valve but failed verification as tampered, and the DLL was repacked with UPX. This is consistent with a modified Steam API replacement such as a game-crack emulator, which can be bundled with unwanted extras.
- Two automated third-party analyses in community comments labelled it malicious, though none of our engines or our sandbox runs agreed.
These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.
- None of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagged the file, including all major antivirus engines.
- Submitted by more than 3,000 distinct sources since 2021.
- The combined sandbox verdict was clean, with no injection or persistence observed.
- No known-malicious hosts were contacted.
- The claimed Valve signature fails verification because the file was modified after signing.
- The DLL is UPX-packed, which is unusual for an official Steam library.
- Two automated third-party analyses labelled the file malicious.
6 sources checked · all complete. See every source
Chapter 03
What it did in our test
It ran in our isolated test environment; no test environment rated what it did as risky.
Test run summary
Capture complete- 8sandbox rule tags
- 7spawned processes
- 0network contacts
- 2filesystem & mutex artifacts
What this file did when executed
This file was run in a sandbox and its runtime behaviour was observed.
Sandbox verdicts
1- VT: CLEANclean
Techniques observed in the sandbox
8MITRE ATT&CK techniques the sandbox mapped. Highlighted ones are rare in normal software; the others are common in legitimate programs too.
- T1027· Obfuscated code
- T1027.002· Obfuscated code
- T1036
- T1071· Application protocol
- T1082· System recon
- T1129· Loads modules
- T1218.011
- T1548
Observed activity
Processes started
7Programs the file ran, with their command lines.
rundll32.exe"C:\Windows\sysnative\rundll32.exe" "C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Temp\readme.dll",#1loaddll64.exeC:\Windows\System32\loaddll64.exe loaddll64.exe "C:\Users\user\Desktop\init.dll"cmd.exeC:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe cmd.exe /C rundll32.exe "C:\Users\user\Desktop\init.dll",#1rundll32.exeC:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe rundll32.exe "C:\Users\user\Desktop\init.dll",#1rundll32.exeC:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe rundll32.exe C:\Users\user\Desktop\init.dll,GetHSteamPiperundll32.exeC:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe rundll32.exe C:\Users\user\Desktop\init.dll,GetHSteamUser
Show all 7 entries for processes started
rundll32.exeC:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe rundll32.exe C:\Users\user\Desktop\init.dll,SteamAPI_GetHSteamPipe
Files
1Files the file created, changed or deleted.
- Written
\Device\ConDrv\\Connect
Mutexes
1Named locks a program uses so only one copy runs; malware families often reuse them.
Local\SM0:6080:304:WilStaging_02
Sandbox background — not the file
4The analysis machine's own processes and connections, recorded in every run.
- VM process
conhost.exeC:\Windows\System32\conhost.exe C:\Windows\system32\conhost.exe 0xffffffff -ForceV1 - VM host
fp2e7a.wpc.2be4.phicdn.net - VM host
fp2e7a.wpc.phicdn.net - VM host
204.79.197.203
Chapter 04
Technical details
None of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag it; a signature that did not verify.
Sources checked
Every check behind this verdict
6 sources checked · all complete. Complete means the check returned a usable result; it does not mean the file is safe.
File fingerprint
- Last analyzed
- Oct 9, 2026, 10:25 PM UTC
- SHA-256
d4dd812364c4f67303f93f770a1afef5894cc1a377ac163d04c4e3f8abaee12e- SHA-1
68ff1c48acef1d8122c03fd7490ded07c4487914- MD5
bd7b67d912daedf0734126c056ffe5e7
About this file
steam_api.dll is a Win32 DLL file of 411.6 kB.
- Type and size
- Win32 DLL · 411.6 kB
- Signer
- Valve Corp. (unverified signature)Worth noting: Malware sometimes copies or steals a company's signature, so this does not mean that company made it.
- First seen
- Nov 30, 2021On VirusTotal.
- Submitted by
- 3,199 distinct sources
- Packer
- UPX (VirusTotal tag)Packing hides code; legitimate installers use it too.
- Entropy
- 7.53 of 8
First scanned Updated
Antivirus consensus
0 of 70 engines flagged this file
5 of the 75 engines returned no result for this file (file type not supported, or the scan did not finish), so they did not check it.
- Tier-118 engines0flagged
- Tier-235 engines0flagged
- Low-trust17 engines0flagged
View all 75 engine results
- AcronisClean
- AhnLab-V3Clean
- AlibabaClean
- alibabacloudClean
- ALYacClean
- Antiy-AVLClean
- APEXClean
- ArcabitClean
- AvastClean
- Avast-MobileNo result
- AVGClean
- AviraClean
- BitDefenderClean
- BitDefenderFalxNo result
- BkavClean
- CAT-QuickHealClean
- ClamAVClean
- CMCClean
- CrowdStrikeClean
- CTXClean
- CylanceClean
- CynetClean
- DeepInstinctClean
- DrWebClean
- ElasticClean
- EmsisoftClean
- ESET-NOD32Clean
- F-SecureClean
- FortinetClean
- GDataClean
- GoogleNo result
- GridinsoftClean
- huorongClean
- IkarusClean
- JiangminClean
- K7AntiVirusClean
- K7GWClean
- KasperskyClean
- KingsoftClean
- LionicClean
- MalwarebytesClean
- MaxSecureClean
- McAfeeDClean
- MicrosoftClean
- MicroWorld-eScanClean
- NANO-AntivirusClean
- PaloaltoClean
- PandaClean
- RisingClean
- SangforClean
- SentinelOneClean
- SkyhighClean
- SophosClean
- SUPERAntiSpywareClean
- SymantecClean
- SymantecMobileInsightNo result
- TACHYONClean
- tehtrisClean
- TencentClean
- TrapmineClean
- TrellixENSClean
- TrendMicroClean
- TrendMicro-HouseCallClean
- TrustlookNo result
- VaristClean
- VBA32Clean
- VIPREClean
- VirITClean
- ViRobotClean
- WebrootClean
- XcitiumClean
- YandexClean
- ZillyaClean
- ZoneAlarmClean
- ZonerClean
Section entropy & packers
A known packer signature (UPX / Themida / VMProtect / etc.) matched this file. Packers aren't malicious on their own, but most malware uses them.
Packers compress or encrypt the executable and only unpack it at runtime. Legitimate commercial software uses them too — but if the file is also unsigned and rare, it's a strong malware signal.
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.
Chapter 05
Questions & answers
Short answers to the 7 questions people ask most about this file.
Is steam_api.dll safe?
What is steam_api.dll?
How many antivirus engines detected steam_api.dll?
Is steam_api.dll digitally signed?
What is the SHA-256 hash of steam_api.dll?
Is it safe to use steam_api.dll?
How up to date is this analysis of steam_api.dll?
Community
Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.