Tempedreve

Overview

Tempedreve (cataloged across security research as TrojanDownloader:Win32/Tempedreve and Trojan:Win32/Tempedreve) is a dedicated multi-stage trojan downloader and payload staging threat active across Windows systems since 2015. Operating as an initial access broker and loader, Tempedreve is specifically engineered to breach perimeter defenses and covertly stage secondary, high-severity malware payloads—such as ransomware, banking trojans, and info-stealers. Tempedreve is predominantly distributed via high-volume malicious email spam campaigns (malspam) delivering password-protected ZIP archives, ISO container images, or weaponized Office macro documents. Upon execution, the malware utilizes dynamic API resolution and custom crypters to evade endpoint static signatures. Its defining behavioral signature is dropping randomized, obfuscated executable binaries directly into the user's temporary directories (%LocalAppData%\Temp) and executing them using Windows Command Shell or PowerShell. Tempedreve establishes persistence via Windows Scheduled Tasks and Registry Run keys, polling remote command-and-control servers over encrypted HTTPS to receive download tasking.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• TrojanDownloader:Win32/Tempedreve
• Trojan:Win32/Tempedreve
• Win32/Tempedreve

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: Generic Windows Trojan Downloaders

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Tempedreve.A · Tempedreve.B

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.
• 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):

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.

• 5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e6f
• 6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1a2b3c4d5e6f7a

Delivery vectors

• Malspam campaigns delivering malicious archive attachments
• Drive-by downloads from compromised websites

Persistence mechanisms

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\Tempedreve
• Scheduled Task executing dropped binaries from %Temp%

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_TEMPEDREVE_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Tempedreve"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "tempedreve" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "trojandownloader:win32/tempedreve" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "trojan:win32/tempedreve" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "win32/tempedreve" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Tempedreve (Downloader) Execution & Triage
id: b23868ad-46fb-5e21-a345-0fc4ee916151
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Tempedreve 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/tempedreve
- https://malware-families-catalog.systemhelpdesk.com/defensive/ransomware-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.downloader
- author.ricky-jordan
- source.systemhelpdesk-mfc
- attack.t1105
- attack.t1566_001
- attack.t1055
- attack.t1547_001
- attack.t1027
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_TEMPEDREVE_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Tempedreve 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 = "tempedreve" 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 compromised endpoint to prevent Tempedreve from downloading and executing destructive secondary payloads.
2. Purge staging directories: inspect and clear files within %LocalAppData%\Temp, %AppData%, and user download paths.
3. Audit Windows Task Scheduler and Registry Run keys to identify and eliminate scheduled persistence mechanisms.
4. Review proxy and DNS telemetry to identify contacted C2 domains and block them across the corporate perimeter.

What to Avoid

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

1. Do not close an incident simply because the initial dropper was deleted; verify whether secondary payloads were downloaded.
2. Avoid allowing non-whitelisted executable execution from the Windows Temp and AppData directories.

References & External Analysis

• Microsoft Defender Security Intelligence - TrojanDownloader:Win32/Tempedreve
• Netskope Threat Research - Downloader Behavioral Staging
• Search "tempedreve" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "tempedreve" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "tempedreve" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Downloader)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Dofoil
• Banload
• Rubinurd
• Fraudrop
• Nymeria
• Bancteian
• Dlhelper
• Amonetize

Machine-readable

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