Montague
Overview
Executive Summary
Montague is a dedicated Information Stealer (Info-stealer) Trojan. Its primary objective is to silently infiltrate a Windows workstation, rapidly extract sensitive data (including saved browser passwords, cryptocurrency wallets, and session cookies), and exfiltrate this intelligence to a remote Command and Control (C2) server before the victim realizes the machine has been compromised.Infection Vector and Technical Capabilities
Montague is commonly distributed via highly targeted phishing campaigns, malicious links embedded in Discord or Telegram channels, or disguised as cracked software and game cheats on file-sharing networks. Upon execution, Montague is designed for speed and rapid data acquisition:- Browser Hooking and Extraction: The malware immediately targets the local storage databases of popular web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave). It extracts saved plaintext passwords, auto-fill data (including credit card numbers), and active session cookies. Stolen session cookies allow attackers to bypass Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for hijacked accounts.
- Cryptocurrency Targeting: Montague actively searches the local filesystem (specifically the `%AppData%` directory) for wallet files associated with popular cryptocurrency clients (e.g., Bitcoin Core, Electrum) and browser-based wallet extensions (like MetaMask).
- Rapid Exfiltration: Because Info-stealers do not necessarily need to maintain long-term persistence, Montague quickly bundles the stolen data into a compressed archive and transmits it to the attacker, often utilizing encrypted channels (HTTPS) or abusing legitimate APIs (like Telegram bots) to evade network detection.
Threat Assessment
A Montague infection is a critical data breach. The immediate theft of session cookies and passwords can lead directly to corporate network compromise, massive financial fraud, and severe identity theft. Attackers frequently sell these "logs" on dark web marketplaces to Initial Access Brokers (IABs).Incident Response and Remediation
- Immediate Network Isolation: Isolate the machine to halt any ongoing data exfiltration.
- Universal Credential Reset: Assume all passwords saved in the user's browser, as well as all active web sessions, are fully compromised. The user must force a logout of all active sessions and change all passwords from a known-secure device.
- Endpoint Eradication: Utilize enterprise EDR or anti-malware tools to locate and terminate the Montague process. Pay close attention to scheduled tasks or registry run keys, as some variants do attempt persistence to steal newly entered credentials.
Known aliases
Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
This family has been observed using the following ATT&CK techniques: T1003 T1552.001 T1555.003 T1048
Tactical Mitigations
Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:
- T1003: Monitor for LSASS memory dumping or registry SAM extraction. Enable Credential Guard on Windows systems.
Generated Detections (Boilerplate)
These YARA and Sigma rules are auto-generated based on the family name and aliases. They must be heavily tuned before deployment in a production environment.
YARA Rule
rule MALWARE_WIN_MONTAGUE {
meta:
description = "Detects Montague (trojan)"
author = "SystemHelpdesk Boilerplate Generator"
date = "2026-07-06"
strings:
$s1 = "montague" ascii wide nocase
$s2 = "trojan.pws.montague" ascii wide nocase
$s3 = "infostealer.montague" ascii wide nocase
$s4 = "win32/montague" ascii wide nocase
condition:
uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}Sigma Rule
title: Suspicious Montague Activity
id: 7d286e998bff30e588c254c83bec5a1f
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the montague malware family.
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith:
- '\cmd.exe'
- '\powershell.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- "*montague*"
- "*trojan.pws.montague*"
- "*infostealer.montague*"
- "*win32/montague*"
condition: selection
level: mediumReferences & External Analysis
- Search "montague" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I remove the Montague Trojan from Windows?
Manual removal of Montague is highly discouraged as it may leave persistence mechanisms intact. We recommend disconnecting the device from the internet and utilizing a professional incident response service or enterprise-grade EDR software to conduct a full forensic sweep.
Is Montague a virus or a Trojan?
Montague is classified as a Trojan. Unlike traditional viruses that infect files, modern malware like Montague typically operates as a standalone payload designed to compromise systems, steal data, or deploy secondary stage implants.
What are the main symptoms of a Montague infection?
Symptoms of Montague can include unexpected system slowness, unauthorized outbound network traffic to unknown IP addresses, disabled security software, and suspicious background processes running from AppData or Temp directories.
Related Families (Category: trojan)
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Protect Your Network Against Trojans
Want to prevent Montague and similar threats from compromising your organization? Read our comprehensive defensive guide: Banking Trojan Protection.
Machine-readable
Get this profile as JSON: https://jordan123234-malware-families-explorer.static.hf.space/api/montague.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.