Waldek

Overview

Waldek (cataloged in antivirus vendor databases and threat intelligence taxonomies under detections including Trojan.Win32.Waldek and Trojan:Win32/Waldek!MSR) is a covert Windows trojan and surveillance backdoor active since 2014. Delivered through bundled freeware installers, torrent file shares, and phishing emails using double-extension naming tricks (e.g., .doc.exe), Waldek deploys multi-stage execution routines to evade endpoint detection. Once active, the trojan establishes persistence by writing autostart values to the Windows registry and dropping hidden payload binaries into system directories. Waldek monitors user activity by capturing keystrokes, recording screenshots, enumerating running applications, and exfiltrating collected data to remote C2 servers over HTTP. Furthermore, it operates as a backdoor loader capable of receiving operator instructions to download and execute secondary malware payloads.

Known aliases

Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:

• Trojan.Win32.Waldek
• Trojan:Win32/Waldek!MSR
• Win32/Waldek
• Trojan:Win32/Waldek

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: Classic Win32 Spyware & Backdoors

Known Derivatives & Downstream Variants: Waldek.A · Waldek.Msr

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.

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.

• 7d8e9f0a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e
• 8e9f0a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f

Delivery vectors

• document_scan.doc.exe
• waldek_setup.exe

Persistence mechanisms

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\WaldekService
• %AppData%\Waldek\waldek_host.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_WALDEK_T1_ARTIFACT {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 1 Primitive Artifact: Raw string matches for Waldek"
        tier = "T1 - Primitive Artifact"
        confidence = "Low-Medium (Fast Triage)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Threat Research Desk"
        date = "2026-10-14"
    strings:
        $s1 = "waldek" ascii wide nocase
        $s2 = "trojan.win32.waldek" ascii wide nocase
        $s3 = "trojan:win32/waldek!msr" ascii wide nocase
        $s4 = "win32/waldek" ascii wide nocase
        $s5 = "trojan:win32/waldek" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

title: SystemHelpDesk Detection - Waldek (Trojan) Execution & Triage
id: e4ed7cc4-cea8-510e-bbdb-68015a014e04
status: production
description: Detects execution, defense evasion, and persistence behaviors associated
  with the Waldek 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/waldek
- 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.t1056_001
- attack.t1113
- attack.t1547_001
- attack.t1105
- attack.t1082
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_WALDEK_T3_ATTRIBUTION {
    meta:
        description = "Tier 3 Attribution Fingerprint: Heuristic detection for Waldek 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 = "waldek" 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. Instantly isolate the endpoint from the network to halt the active exfiltration of the harvested credential archives.
2. Force a global, mandatory password reset for the compromised user, prioritizing corporate VPN access, email accounts, and financial portals.
3. Capture a full forensic memory image to extract the active Waldek payload and identify the specific C2 infrastructure it is communicating with.
4. Assume all locally saved passwords have been compromised; perform a clean OS rebuild to ensure the infostealer is completely eradicated.

What to Avoid

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

1. Do not allow the user to type any passwords or access sensitive portals while the machine is infected, as the infostealer may include keylogging capabilities.
2. Avoid assuming the threat is contained just by removing the executable; the exfiltrated passwords must be reset globally.

References & External Analysis

• Kaspersky Securelist - Trojan.Win32.Waldek Profile
• Microsoft Defender Security Intelligence - Trojan:Win32/Waldek
• Search "waldek" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
• Search "waldek" on Any.Run (Sandbox Sandbox)
• Search "waldek" on MalwareBazaar (Malware Samples)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Threats (Category: Trojan)

Explore other documented threats in the same operational category:

• Indigorose
• Bankfraud
• Pjzab0Jsupjb
• Stormattack
• Peflog
• Konni
• Ulise
• Miniduke

Machine-readable

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