Individual skill
analyzing-packed-malware-with-upx-unpacker
Identifies and unpacks UPX-packed malware samples, including binaries with modified UPX magic bytes or headers that block automated decompression, to recover the original executable for static analysis. Use when a sample shows high entropy, minimal imports, or only LoadLibrary/GetProcAddress in its import table, or when preparing a packed binary for disassembly in Ghidra or IDA.
skills/analyzing-packed-malware-with-upx-unpacker/SKILL.md
Source commit 54a798831d2266a3ca61ce68a7acb80b81160d57
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- Matches the observed repository HEAD
- Yes
- Scanner rules are current
- Yes
- Repository scan complete
- No
- Skill scan complete
- No
- Observed behavior
- Network or broad shell
- Last checked
- Nov 9, 2026
These are observations at the recorded commit, not a guarantee of safety. Review the source before running it.
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Repository context
- Repository stars (not skill ratings)
- 35,926
- Repository last updated
- Aug 31, 2026
- License
- Apache-2.0
Observed agent integration: No specific integration evidence. Standard SKILL.md installation does not imply verified compatibility.
- ai-agents Repository topic
- claude-code Repository topic
- cybersecurity Repository topic
- incident-response Repository topic
- mitre-attack Repository topic
- penetration-testing Repository topic
- red-team Repository topic
- security Repository topic
- cloud-security Repository topic
- malware-analysis Repository topic
- malware Declared skill tag
- unpacking Declared skill tag
- upx Declared skill tag
- packing Declared skill tag
- static-analysis Declared skill tag
- engineering Derived category
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LICENSEasset · 11,255 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesSKILL.mdcore · 11,891 bytesreferences/api-reference.mddoc · 3,143 bytesscripts/agent.pyruns · 8,699 bytes
Read excerpt
# Analyzing Packed Malware with UPX Unpacker
## When to Use
- Static analysis reveals high entropy sections and minimal imports indicating the binary is packed
- PEiD, Detect It Easy, or PEStudio identifies UPX or another known packer
- The import table contains only LoadLibrary and GetProcAddress (runtime import resolution typical of packed binaries)
- You need to recover the original binary for proper disassembly and decompilation in Ghidra or IDA
- Automated UPX decompression fails because the malware author modified UPX magic bytes or headers
**Do not use** when dealing with custom packers, VM-based protectors (Themida, VMProtect), or samples where dynamic unpacking via debugging is more appropriate.
## Prerequisites
