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HOLLOWCLAD is a Windows malware family presented as a license cracker or key generator and distinguished by layered anti-analysis deception. It is an unpacked, 64-bit executable built with MSVC C++ that targets AI-assisted analysis tools, automated packer-identification systems, and human reverse engineers.
Its principal evasion technique is template spraying: plaintext prompt-injection instructions repeated across seven distinct large-language-model chat formats. These instructions invoke purported copyright or DMCA restrictions and impersonate authoritative system messages to induce analysis refusal or dictate response wording. This behavior falls under the CAIRN A3 AI-Analysis Evasion archetype; it does not establish that the malware itself uses an AI model during execution.
HOLLOWCLAD also contains approximately 80 tiny, low-entropy decoy PE sections named after commercial protectors, alongside fabricated protection labels, debugging artifacts, and timestamps. These features create a misleading appearance of multiple packing or protection layers, although the executable remains amenable to static analysis. Embedded intimidation messages claim monitored analysis, license revocation, and delayed crashes, but these claims do not reflect verified binary behavior.
Seven samples were observed between April 11 and April 29, 2026. Its distribution mechanism, ultimate payload objective, threat-actor attribution, and targeted industries are not established. Its effectiveness against production AI-assisted analysis systems has not been demonstrated.
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2 indicators attributed across vendor reports, sandbox runs, and researcher write-ups. Full values are available in Mallory.
File hashes (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256) from samples and reports.
4 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Embeds instructions in seven LLM chat-template formats to induce refusal of reverse engineering. It also includes intimidation claims about monitoring, license revocation, and delayed crashes. Approximately 80 small binary sections imitate protector names, although the analyzed binary is not actually packed. Its underlying malicious functionality is not specified.
Malware that sprays prompt-injection instructions across seven LLM chat-template formats to induce refusal of reverse engineering. It also embeds intimidation messages and approximately 80 small sections named after protector frameworks to mislead analysts and packer-identification tools, although the binary is not actually packed. Its underlying malicious functionality is not specified.
Match every observed IP, domain, and hash against your live telemetry.
Named campaigns wielding this family, with evidence pinned to each claim.
CVEs this family uses for access and lateral movement.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Every documented technique, ranked by evidence weight.
Reddit, Mastodon, and CTI community discussion around this family.