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Malware Intelligence

Rhadamanthys

Rhadamanthys is a modular infostealer with a multi-stage loading chain and a plugin architecture. It is distributed from sites imitating legitimate software and through targeted phishing campaigns.

Activity map

Activity mapAttachmentExtractionLaunchesIn memoryPackagingExfiltrationDownloadIn memoryDownloadExtractionExecutionPhishing emailFake invoiceZIPPassword-protectedarchiveLNKShortcutPowerShellRemote scriptDownload from aremote serverBase64 payloadRhadamanthysModular infostealerData collection31 targetsLog archiveC2 serverSponsoredsearch adAnyDesk, Zoom, Notepad++Fake download siteCopy of a legitimate siteEXEInstallerMulti-stage loaderCustom formatGhost GitHubaccountsFake starsZIPPassword-protectedarchiveEXEPayload
Executable payloadFile
Malicious payloadRhadamanthys · Modular infostealer

Rhadamanthys is a modular infostealer with a multi-stage loading chain and a plugin architecture. It is distributed from sites imitating legitimate software and through targeted phishing campaigns.

Appears in flows

Environment information

  • Operating system
  • Hardware
  • IP and location
  • Installed software
  • Screenshot
  • Desktop files

Credentials and application data

  • Saved passwords
  • Session cookies
  • Autofill
  • Saved cards
  • 2FA seeds
  • Steam
  • Discord
  • MetaMask
  • Phantom
  • Coinbase Wallet
  • Trust Wallet
  • Binance Wallet
  • TronLink
  • Exodus
Dark Radar infection records
134,941
Latest infection record
8 May 2026
Malware type
Modular infostealer
First seen
2022
01

Overview

Heavy obfuscation techniques make signature-based detection difficult; it has been used in campaigns targeting organizations.

Ranks 14 of 52 families in Dark Radar data, with 134,941 infection records.

02

Origin and evolution

  1. 2022Began to be distributed from sites imitating software such as AnyDesk, Zoom and Notepad++ and through search ads.Malpedia (Fraunhofer FKIE)
  2. 2024The TA547 group targeted German organizations with a PowerShell loader.Proofpoint
  3. 2025A technical analysis of its obfuscation techniques was published.Zscaler
03

Technical profile

Malware typeModular infostealer
Target operating systemWindows
Primary purposeData theft
Threat categoryCredential theft
Programming languageC/C++
Distribution modelSubscription service (MaaS)
First seen2022
Infected systemsWindows 10 58%, Windows 11 35.5%
Public source confidenceHigh
04

Targeted applications

31 applications10 categories
05

Data collection

Credentials

  • Browser passwords84.5%Verified
  • Session cookies97.5%Verified
  • Refreshing expired sessions—
  • Autofill92%Dark Radar observation
  • macOS Keychain—
  • 2FA and password managersVersion-dependent

Financial

  • Saved cards5%Dark Radar observation
  • Desktop crypto wallets4.5%Verified
  • Wallet extensionsVerified
  • Clipboard address replacement—

Applications

  • Email clientsVerified
  • FTP clientsVerified
  • VPN clientsVerified
  • Messaging applicationsVerified
  • Gaming platforms43.5%Dark Radar observation

System

  • File collectionVerified
  • Screenshot86%Dark Radar observation
  • System inventory96.5%Verified

Behavior

  • Additional payload downloadVerified
  • Persistence—
  • Anti-analysisVerified
06

File system

User profile (%USERPROFILE%)
File details are in Dark Radar IntelligenceOpen in Intelligence
07

System components

  • System, hardware and user information
  • Traces of analysis tools and virtual machines
08

How it works

  1. 1Infection

    • Ad-promoted pages imitating legitimate software sites.
    • Phishing emails targeting organizations.
    T1189Drive-by CompromiseT1566.001Spearphishing Attachment

    Breaking point: Email attachments, sponsored ad links and unlicensed software downloads are blocked at the email and web gateway.

  2. 2Execution and evasion

    • A multi-stage loader; the final payload is unpacked in memory in a custom executable format.
    T1059.001PowerShellT1620Reflective Code LoadingT1055Process InjectionT1027Obfuscated Files or InformationT1497Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion

    Breaking point: Unsigned files running from user folders and injections into .NET tools are stopped by application control and EDR.

  3. 3Discovery

    • Virtual environments and analysis tools are checked.
    Dark Radar observation

    Infected systems: Windows 10 58%, Windows 11 35.5%.

    T1082System Information Discovery

    Breaking point: Bulk system and security software queries from a short-lived process trigger an EDR alert.

  4. 4Data collection

    • Browser, wallet, email, FTP and VPN data is collected through plugins.
    Dark Radar observation

    Data found in the latest 200 logs: password file 84.5%, cookies 97.5%, autofill 92%, cards 5%, wallets 4.5%.

    T1555.003Credentials from Web BrowsersT1539Steal Web Session CookieT1552.001Credentials In FilesT1005Data from Local System

    Breaking point: A process other than the browser reading browser profile files is blocked or triggers an alert.

  5. 5Exfiltration and C2

    • Data is sent to the C2 over an encrypted channel.
    T1573Encrypted ChannelT1105Ingress Tool TransferT1041Exfiltration Over C2 Channel

    Breaking point: Traffic to newly registered domains, direct IP addresses and non-standard ports is blocked.

  6. 6Persistence and aftermath

    • Downloads additional plugins and payloads.

    Breaking point: When an infection is confirmed, all sessions and access tokens on the device are revoked.

09

Network communication

This section is in Dark Radar IntelligenceOpen in Intelligence
10

MITRE ATT&CK

Initial Access
Execution
Defense Evasion
Credential Access
Discovery
Collection
Command and Control
Exfiltration
11

IOCs and detection

This section is in Dark Radar IntelligenceOpen in Intelligence
12

Risk and impact

  • Corporate email and VPN access is used to continue targeted attacks.
  • Stolen session cookies are enough to take over cloud, email and SaaS sessions without a password or multi-factor authentication prompt.
  • Corporate passwords saved on personal devices also leak through infections outside the corporate network; these logs are sold to initial access brokers.
  • Log archives are reshared for years; as long as the password is not changed, the same credential can be used again and again.
  • Compromised email, messaging and social media accounts become the next link in phishing and malware distribution.
13

Defense

  • Require software downloads through the corporate software center.
  • When an infection is detected, revoke not only the password but all related sessions and access tokens.
  • Turn off password saving in the browser through corporate policy; use a corporate password manager.
  • Move to phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (FIDO2/passkey); bind sessions to the device.
  • Block setup files downloaded from unlicensed software, game cheats and sponsored search results.
  • Monitor flows where the user runs a command by pasting it into the Run dialog or terminal (ClickFix) with endpoint rules.
  • Continuously monitor your corporate domains and employee email addresses in stealer logs with Dark Radar.
14

Learning center

How does this malware spread?
  • Ad-promoted pages imitating legitimate software sites.
  • Phishing emails targeting organizations.
How can its presence on a system be detected?
  • Sign-ins to accounts from an unrecognized country or device.
  • A new infostealer log in Dark Radar for your corporate domain or an employee email address.
Which Windows artifacts should be examined?
  • Prefetch (C:\Windows\Prefetch) — shows that a short-lived payload ran.
  • Amcache.hve and ShimCache — path and hash of the executed file.
  • Downloads folder and Zone.Identifier stream — the address the file was downloaded from.
  • Browser history — the fake download page or fake CAPTCHA address.
  • RunMRU registry key — commands pasted into the Run dialog.
  • Randomly named folders and DLLs under %TEMP% and %LOCALAPPDATA%.
Which log records matter?
  • Sysmon Event 1 / Security 4688Process creation: unsigned processes starting from Temp and Downloads folders, mshta, powershell -enc chains.
  • Sysmon Olay 11 / 23File creation and deletion: self-deleting payloads, DLLs dropped under Temp.
  • Sysmon Olay 3 / 22Network connection and DNS query: to newly registered domains, C2 resolution via Telegram, Steam or Pastebin.
  • Object access auditing (4663)A process other than the browser reading Login Data, Cookies and Local State files.
  • PowerShell 4104Script block logging: obfuscated downloader commands.
  • Identity provider sign-in logsSessions after the infection from a different country and device, without a multi-factor authentication prompt.
Which MITRE techniques is it associated with?
T1189Drive-by CompromiseT1566.001Spearphishing AttachmentT1059.001PowerShellT1620Reflective Code LoadingT1055Process InjectionT1027Obfuscated Files or InformationT1497Virtualization/Sandbox EvasionT1555.003Credentials from Web BrowsersT1539Steal Web Session CookieT1552.001Credentials In FilesT1082System Information DiscoveryT1005Data from Local SystemT1573Encrypted ChannelT1105Ingress Tool TransferT1041Exfiltration Over C2 Channel
How should a SOC analyst respond?
  1. Isolate the device from the network; do not reinstall it before taking memory and disk images.
  2. Determine the infection date; list all accounts that were signed in on the device after that date.
  3. Change the passwords of these accounts, revoke their sessions and access tokens, and re-enroll multi-factor authentication devices.
  4. Search identity provider and SaaS logs for new country, device and token usage after the infection.
  5. If a recovery phrase or wallet file was exposed, move the assets to a new wallet.
  6. Find the initial access path (email, ad, unlicensed software, fake CAPTCHA) and check other users who used the same path.
  7. Reinstall the device from a clean image.
15

Sources

Related families

Lumma StealerStealCCompare

Related terms

CrypterObfuscationPhishingThreat actorSession restore
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