{
  "family": "avkiller",
  "sample_count": 1,
  "category": "ransomware",
  "description": "Avkiller (classified in antivirus detection telemetry under designations including Ransom:Win32/Avkiller, Ransom.Win32.Avkiller, and Win32/Avkiller) is a crypto-ransomware designed to locate, encrypt, and hold hostage high-value user documents, database stores, and system files. Disseminated across enterprise networks and consumer workstations via social engineering, phishing attachments, malicious drive-by downloads, or weaponized software cracks, Avkiller 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 file system traversal, high-speed symmetric/asymmetric encryption, Volume Shadow Copy destruction via vssadmin, and extortion note display. 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.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk Threat Intelligence Team.",
  "aliases": [
    "Ransom:Win32/Avkiller",
    "Ransom.Win32.Avkiller",
    "Win32/Avkiller"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "curated_sourced",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Ransom:Win32/Avkiller?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Avkiller is a ransomware threat designed to infiltrate Windows systems and execute unauthorized operations without user consent."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How does Avkiller compromise target systems?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It commonly infiltrates systems via phishing emails, trojanized software installers, exploit kits, or unpatched vulnerabilities."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What persistence mechanisms does Avkiller utilize?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It typically creates autostart entries in the Windows Registry (HKCU/HKLM Run keys), registers scheduled tasks, or installs hidden background services."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What risks does Avkiller pose to an enterprise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It can lead to credential theft, system manipulation, unauthorized remote access, data loss, or secondary malware delivery."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How can administrators detect and eliminate Avkiller?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Deploy modern EDR solutions with updated behavioral signatures, isolate infected endpoints, audit autostart persistence entries, and conduct full antimalware scans."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq_count": 5,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1486",
    "T1490",
    "T1489",
    "T1547.001",
    "T1083"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-10-16",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1562.001",
      "name": "Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (The primary function of Avkiller)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1068",
      "name": "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (Often required to kill protected EDR processes via BYOVD)",
      "tactic": "Privilege Escalation"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1112",
      "name": "Modify Registry (Disabling security services via policy keys)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Isolate the endpoint IMMEDIATELY; the attacker is likely deploying ransomware the moment the AV is disabled.",
    "If the EDR agent is offline, rely on network-level isolation (e.g., disabling the switch port or VPN session).",
    "Investigate how the attacker gained the Administrative privileges necessary to execute the Avkiller tool.",
    "Review the memory of the affected host to identify what secondary payloads were executed while the defenses were down."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not assume a 'Defender disabled' alert is just a configuration error or user mistake if it correlates with other suspicious activity.",
    "Avoid relying solely on the AV agent to report its own death; use external monitoring to detect when endpoints suddenly stop sending logs."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Healthcare",
    "Critical Infrastructure",
    "Enterprise"
  ],
  "motivation": "Financial Extortion",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ],
  "attack_stage": [
    "defense_evasion",
    "impact"
  ],
  "ecosystem": [
    "windows_pe"
  ],
  "is_emerging": false,
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "Microsoft Defender Threat Encyclopedia - Ransom:Win32/Avkiller",
      "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=Ransom:Win32/Avkiller"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaspersky Threat Intelligence - Ransom.Win32.Avkiller",
      "url": "https://threats.kaspersky.com/en/threat/"
    },
    {
      "name": "MITRE ATT&CK - Enterprise Techniques",
      "url": "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1486/"
    }
  ],
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows Server 2022",
    "Windows Server 2019"
  ]
}