Wakme

Overview

Wakme (cataloged across security vendors as TrojanDownloader:Win32/Wakme, TROJ_WAKME.A, and Trojan:Win32/Wakme) is a modular trojan downloader and initial access staging tool active since 2013. Engineered to breach endpoint defenses and deliver secondary high-severity payloads—including banking trojans, information stealers, and ransomware droppers—Wakme is commonly distributed through malicious email spam campaigns with weaponized attachments (such as macro-enabled Word documents or compressed ZIP archives) and drive-by web exploit kits. Upon execution, Wakme executes robust anti-analysis and sandbox-evasion routines, verifying system memory, processor core counts, and mouse movement to detect automated analysis environments. If a live victim endpoint is confirmed, Wakme drops a lightweight binary into %TEMP% or %LOCALAPPDATA%, secures autostart persistence via Registry Run keys, and hollows out legitimate Windows processes (such as explorer.exe or svchost.exe) to inject its downloading routine. It establishes encrypted C2 communications, retrieving and executing secondary malware modules.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• TrojanDownloader:Win32/Wakme
• Trojan:Win32/Wakme
• TROJ_WAKME.A
• Win32/Wakme
• Trojan.Wakme

Family Pedigree & Lineage

Malware authors regularly fork and iterate upon existing codebases. Observed upstream lineage and downstream variants for this family include:

Derived From / Upstream Ancestry: Modular Trojan Downloader Architecture · Evasive Initial Access Dropper

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Wakme.A · Wakme.B · Wakme.Gen

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to our technical analysis hubs and the official MITRE ATT&CK framework:

Tactical Mitigations

Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:

• T1105: Implement network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) and host-based firewalls to block unauthorized inbound or outbound file transfers.

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

Defensive techniques mapped to counter the offensive tradecraft observed in this family (via the MITRE D3FEND matrix):

Indicators of Compromise

Public indicators drawn from CISA advisories and vendor reporting. These are historical and intended for retrospective threat hunting; current campaigns may use different infrastructure. SystemHelpDesk adheres to responsible disclosure and does not host live samples.

File hashes (SHA-256, sample)

Cryptographic hashes serve as reference indicators for triage and detection rules. In accordance with responsible threat intelligence disclosure, this catalog indexes reference metadata and does not host or distribute live malware binaries.

• d5f7a9c1e3b5d7f9a1c3e5b7d9f1a3c5e7b9d1f3a5c7e9b1d3f5a7c9e1b3d5f7
• e6a8b0c2d4e6f8a0b2c4d6e8f0a2b4c6d8e0f2a4c6e8b0d2f4a6c8e0b2d4f6a8

Delivery vectors

• Malicious spam email campaigns with password-protected archive attachments
• Exploit kit landing pages targeting vulnerable browser components

Persistence mechanisms

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\WakmeUpdate
• %TEMP%\wakme.exe

Tiered Detection Rules (Cisco CAIRN Model)

Modern threat detection requires multi-layered rule engineering. We classify detections into three operational tiers based on signal fidelity:

rule MALWARE_WIN_WAKME_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Wakme"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "wakme" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "trojandownloader:win32/wakme" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "trojan:win32/wakme" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "troj_wakme.a" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "win32/wakme" ascii wide nocase
        $s6 = "trojan.wakme" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Wakme (Trojan) Execution & Triage
id: 6e8d4697-1867-5913-8a65-976597674c99
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Wakme malware family. Detects suspicious execution from temporary user
  directories with hidden window flags and background transfer utilities.
references:
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/families/wakme
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/downloader-dropper-protection
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/
author: Ricky Jordan, Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst, SystemHelpDesk MSP
date: '2026-10-14'
modified: '2026-10-14'
tags:
- attack.trojan
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1204_002
- attack.t1105
- attack.t1497_001
- attack.t1055
- attack.t1547_001
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
    - \cmd.exe
    - \powershell.exe
    - \cscript.exe
    - \wscript.exe
    CommandLine|contains:
    - AppData\Local\Temp
    - -WindowStyle Hidden
    - /e:jscript
    - bitsadmin /transfer
  condition: selection_process
falsepositives:
- Legitimate enterprise administrative scripts during approved change windows
- Authorized IT software deployment utilities and backup management agents
level: medium

rule MALWARE_WIN_WAKME_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Wakme tradecraft"
        tier = "T3 - Attribution Fingerprint"
        confidence = "High (Confirmed Family Signature)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        // Core family identifier & heuristic payload signatures
        $attrib_str = "wakme" ascii wide nocase
        $pe_magic = "MZ" ascii
        $net_marker = "http" ascii nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and ($attrib_str and $net_marker) and filesize < 15MB
}

Containment & Response Steps

Ordered checklist for responders. Adapt to your environment and engage professional support for active incidents.

1. Isolate the endpoint from the network immediately to sever the downloader's communication with C2 payload staging servers.
2. Inspect active processes for anomalous injection into explorer.exe or svchost.exe.
3. Delete persistent registry run keys in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and purge files in %TEMP%.
4. Perform a complete endpoint security scan to identify and eliminate secondary malware payloads delivered by Wakme.

What to Avoid

Common mistakes during response to this family that can destroy evidence, spread the infection, or worsen recovery.

1. Do not open unexpected archive attachments or enable macros in email documents originating from unknown sources.
2. Avoid allowing internet access to the machine until full forensic verification and remediation are complete.

References & External Analysis

• Microsoft Defender Security Intelligence - TrojanDownloader:Win32/Wakme
• Trend Micro Threat Encyclopedia - TROJ_WAKME.A
• Search "wakme" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "wakme" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "wakme" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Trojan)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Genericrxce
• Enfal
• Zdowbot
• Gootkit
• Gamethief
• Jenxcus
• Cool_Remote_Control
• Buzus

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/api/wakme.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.