Adwind

Overview

Adwind (classified in antivirus detection telemetry under designations including Trojan:Win32/Adwind, Trojan.Win32.Adwind, and Win32/Adwind) is a multi-stage trojan engineered to disguise itself as legitimate software, execute unauthorized commands, and coordinate with external command-and-control infrastructure. Disseminated across enterprise networks and consumer workstations via social engineering, phishing attachments, malicious drive-by downloads, or weaponized software cracks, Adwind executes an initial reconnaissance phase upon system ingress. The binary evaluates host privileges, detects active hypervisors and sandbox environments to evade behavioral analysis, and establishes resilient autostart persistence by configuring registry keys under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run or registering background Windows services. Operational mechanics characteristic of this family include deceptive executable masquerading, registry run key autostart, system telemetry gathering, and remote C2 beaconing. Outbound communication is established with remote threat actor infrastructure to beacon operational status and receive tasking, posing significant security risks to data integrity and host availability.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Trojan:Win32/Adwind
• Trojan.Win32.Adwind
• Win32/Adwind

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:

• T1056.001: Implement Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to monitor for suspicious API calls related to keystroke interception. Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to render stolen passwords useless.
• T1071.001: Implement web filtering and SSL/TLS inspection to detect malicious command and control (C2) traffic hiding in HTTP/HTTPS.
• T1125: Restrict access to local camera or microphone APIs. Utilize endpoint protection that monitors hardware access.
• T1566.001: Scan email attachments for malicious macros, scripts, or suspicious archive files.

MITRE D3FEND™ Defensive Countermeasures

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

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_ADWIND_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Adwind"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "adwind" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "trojan:win32/adwind" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "trojan.win32.adwind" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "win32/adwind" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Adwind (Trojan) Execution & Triage
id: b1ffbd42-93f0-5870-bdbd-983db0c1d85b
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Adwind 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/adwind
- 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.t1059_003
- attack.t1027
- attack.t1547_001
- attack.t1071_001
- attack.t1105
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_ADWIND_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Adwind 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 = "adwind" 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. Immediately isolate the endpoint from the network to sever the attacker's interactive control session.
2. Force a password reset for all corporate accounts used on the machine, as the keylogger likely captured them.
3. Verify the infection vector (usually email) and purge the malicious `.jar` attachment from all corporate inboxes to prevent lateral spread.
4. Consider uninstalling the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from all endpoints that do not strictly require it for business operations.

What to Avoid

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

1. Do not assume macOS or Linux endpoints are immune; Adwind's primary strength is its ability to infect any OS with Java installed.
2. Avoid relying solely on file hashes, as Adwind builders allow attackers to easily generate unique, obfuscated `.jar` files.

References & External Analysis

• Microsoft Defender Threat Encyclopedia - Trojan:Win32/Adwind
• Kaspersky Threat Intelligence - Trojan.Win32.Adwind
• MITRE ATT&CK - Enterprise Techniques
• Search "adwind" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "adwind" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "adwind" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Trojan)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Rodecap
• 2345Cn
• Krbanker
• Streespyer
• Ursu
• Tibs
• Memery
• Autohit

Machine-readable

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