Files

Information about files

Files are one of the most important type of objects in the VirusTotal API. We have a huge dataset of more than 2 billion files that have been analysed by VirusTotal over the years. A file object can be obtained either by uploading a new file to VirusTotal, by searching for an already existing file hash or by other meanings when searching in VT Enterprise services.

A file object ID is its SHA256 hash.

Object Attributes

In a File object you are going to find some relevant basic attributes about the file and its relationship with VirusTotal:

  • capabilities_tags: <list of strings> list of representative tags related to the file's capabilities. Only available for Premium API users.
  • creation_date: <integer> extracted when possible from the file's metadata. Indicates when it was built or compiled. It can also be faked by malware creators. UTC timestamp.
  • downloadable: <boolean> true if the file can be downloaded, false otherwise. Only available for Premium API users.
  • first_submission_date: <integer> date when the file was first seen in VirusTotal. UTC timestamp.
  • last_analysis_date: <integer> most recent scan date. UTC timestamp.
  • last_analysis_results: <dictionary> latest scan results. For more information about its format, check the Analysis object results attribute.
  • last_analysis_stats: <dictionary> a summary of the latest scan results. For more information about its format, check the Analysis object stats attribute.
  • last_modification_date: <integer> date when the object itself was last modified. UTC timestamp.
  • last_submission_date: <integer> most recent date the file was posted to VirusTotal. UTC timestamp.
  • main_icon: <dictionary> icon's relevant hashes, the dictionary contains two keys:
    • raw_md5: <string> icon's MD5 hash.
    • dhash: <string> icon's difference hash. It can be used to search for files with similar icons using the /intelligence/search endpoint.
  • md5: <string> file's MD5 hash.
  • meaningful_name: <string> the most interesting name out of all file's names.
  • names: <list of strings> all file names associated with the file.
  • reputation: <integer> file's score calculated from all votes posted by the VirusTotal community. To know more about how reputation is calculated, check this article.
  • sandbox_verdicts: <dictionary> A summary of all sandbox verdicts:
    • category: <string> normalized verdict category. It can be one of suspicious, malicious, harmless or undetected.
    • confidence: <integer> verdict confidence from 0 to 100.
    • malware_classification: <list of strings> raw sandbox verdicts.
    • malware_names: <list of strings> malware family names.
    • sandbox_name: <string> sandbox that provided the verdict.
  • sha1: <string> file's SHA1 hash.
  • sha256: <string> file's SHA256 hash.
  • sigma_analysis_summary: <dictionary> dictionary containing the number of matched sigma rules group by its severity, same as sigma_analysis_stats but split by ruleset. Dictionary key is the ruleset name and value is the stats for that specific ruleset.
  • size: <integer> file size in bytes.
  • tags: <list of strings> list of representative attributes.
  • times_submitted: <integer> number of times the file has been posted to VirusTotal.
  • total_votes: <dictionary> unweighted number of total votes from the community, divided in "harmless" and "malicious":
    • harmless: <integer> number of positive votes.
    • malicious: <integer> number of negative votes.
  • type_description: <string> describes the file type.
  • type_extension: <string> specifies file extension.
  • type_tag: <string> tag representing the file type. Can be used to filter by file type in VirusTotal intelligence searches.
  • type_tags: <list of strings> broader tags related to the specific file type, for instance, for a DLL this list would include - executable, windows, win32, pe, pedll. Can be used to filter in VirusTotal intelligence searches, all typetags get added to the _type search modifier.
  • unique_sources: <integer> indicates from how many different sources the file has been posted from.
  • vhash: <string> in-house similarity clustering algorithm value, based on a simple structural feature hash allows you to find similar files.
  • crowdsourced_ai_results : <dictionary> A summary of all crowdsourced ai results:
    • analysis : <string> Natural language summary of code snippets.
    • source: <string> result source.
    • id: <string> id of the crowdsourced_ai result.

Additionally VirusTotal together with each Antivirus scan runs a set of tool that allows us to collect more information about the file. All this tool information is included in the "attributes" key, together with the rest of fields previously described. These tools and the data they extract, are documented in the subsections below.

{
    "data": {
        "attributes": {
          	"capabilities_tags": [
              	"<strings>",....
            ],
            "creation_date": <int:timestamp>,
            "crowdsourced_ids_results": [
                {
                    "alert_context": [
                        {
                            "dest_ip": "<string>",
                            "dest_port": <int>,
                            "hostname": "<string>",
                            "protocol": "<string>",
                            "src_ip": "<string>",
                            "src_port": <int>,
                            "url": "<string>"
                        }
                    ],
                    "alert_severity": "<string>",
                    "rule_category": "<string>",
                    "rule_id": "<string>",
                    "rule_msg": "<string>",
                    "rule_source": "<string>"
                }
            ],
            "crowdsourced_ids_stats": {
                "info": <int>,
                "high": <int>,
                "low": <int>,
                "medium": <int>
            },
            "crowdsourced_yara_results": [
                {
                    "description": "<string>",
                    "match_in_subfile": <boolean>,
                    "rule_name": "<string>",
                    "ruleset_id": "<string>",
                    "ruleset_name": "<string>",
                    "source": "<string>"
                }
            ],
            "downloadable": <bool>,
            "first_submission_date": <int:timestamp>,
            "last_analysis_date": <int:timestamp>,
            "last_analysis_results": {
                "<string:engine_name>": {
                    "category": "<string>",
                    "engine_name": "<string>",
                    "engine_update": "<string>",
                    "engine_version": "<string>",
                    "method": "<string>",
                    "result": "<string>"
                }
            },
            "last_analysis_stats": {
                "confirmed-timeout": <int>,
                "failure": <int>,
                "harmless": <int>,
                "malicious": <int>,
                "suspicious": <int>,
                "timeout": <int>,
                "type-unsupported": <int>,
                "undetected": <int>
            },
            "last_modification_date": <int:timestamp>,
            "last_submission_date": <int:timestamp>,
            "md5": "<string>",
            "meaningful_name": "<string>",
            "names": [
                "<strings>",...
            ],
            "reputation": <int>,
            "sandbox_verdicts": {
                "<string:sandbox_name>": {
                    "category": "<string>",
                    "confidence": <int>,
                    "malware_classification": [
                        "<string>"
                    ],
                    "malware_names": [
                        "<string>"
                    ],
                    "sandbox_name": "<string>"
                }
            },
            "sha1": "<string>",
            "sha256": "<string>",
            "sigma_analysis_results": [{
              "rule_title": "<string>",
              "rule_source": "<string>",
              "match_context": [{
                "values": {
                  "<string>": "<string>"}}],
              "rule_level": "<string>",
              "rule_description": "<string>",
              "rule_author": "<string>",
              "rule_id": "<string>"
            }],
            "sigma_analysis_stats": {
                "critical": <int>,
                "high": <int>,
                "low": <int>,
                "medium": <int>
            },
            "sigma_analysis_summary": {
                "<string:ruleset_name>": {
                    "critical": <int>,
                    "high": <int>,
                    "low": <int>,
                    "medium": <int>
                }
            },
            "size": <int>,
            "tags": [
                "<strings>",...
            ],
            "times_submitted": <int>,
            "total_votes": {
                "harmless": <int>,
                "malicious": <int>
            },
            "type_description": "<string>",
            "type_extension": "<string>",
            "type_tag": "<string>",
            "unique_sources": <int>,
            "vhash": "<string>"
        },
        "id": "<SHA256>",
        "links": {
            "self": "https://www.virustotal.com/ui/files/<SHA256>"
        },
        "type": "file"
    }
}
{
    "data": {
        "attributes": {
          	"capabilities_tags": [
                "str_win32_internet_api",
                "cred_ff",
                "win_mutex",
                "keylogger",
                "str_win32_winsock2_library",
                "sniff_audio",
                "network_dropper",
                "ldpreload",
                "win_files_operation",
                "str_win32_wininet_library",
                "inject_thread"
            ],
            "creation_date": 1589251011,
            "crowdsourced_ids_results": [
              {
                "alert_context": [
                  {
                    "proto": "TCP",
                    "src_ip": "152.126.25.42",
                    "src_port": 80
                  }
                ],
                "alert_severity": "high",
                "rule_category": "Potential Corporate Privacy Violation",
                "rule_id": "32481",
                "rule_msg": "POLICY-OTHER Remote non-JavaScript file found in script tag src attribute",
                "rule_source": "snort"
               }
            ],
            "crowdsourced_ids_stats": {
                "high": 1,
                "info": 0,
                "low": 0,
                "medium": 0
             },
            "crowdsourced_yara_results": [
                {
                    "description": "Detects a very evil attack",
                    "match_in_subfile": true,
                    "rule_name": "evil_a_b",
                    "ruleset_id": "000abc43",
                    "ruleset_name": "evilness",
                    "source": "https://example.com/evil/ruleset"
                }
            ],
            "downloadable": true,
            "first_submission_date": 1592134853,
            "last_analysis_date": 1592141610,
            "last_analysis_results": {
                "ALYac": {
                    "category": "malicious",
                    "engine_name": "ALYac",
                    "engine_update": "20200614",
                    "engine_version": "1.1.1.5",
                    "method": "blacklist",
                    "result": "Trojan.GenericKDZ.67102"
                },
                "APEX": {
                    "category": "malicious",
                    "engine_name": "APEX",
                    "engine_update": "20200613",
                    "engine_version": "6.36",
                    "method": "blacklist",
                    "result": "Malicious"
                },
                "AVG": {
                    "category": "malicious",
                    "engine_name": "AVG",
                    "engine_update": "20200614",
                    "engine_version": "18.4.3895.0",
                    "method": "blacklist",
                    "result": "Win32:PWSX-gen [Trj]"
                },
                "Acronis": {
                    "category": "undetected",
                    "engine_name": "Acronis",
                    "engine_update": "20200603",
                    "engine_version": "1.1.1.76",
                    "method": "blacklist",
                    "result": null
                }
            },
            "last_analysis_stats": {
                "confirmed-timeout": 0,
                "failure": 0,
                "harmless": 0,
                "malicious": 3,
                "suspicious": 0,
                "timeout": 0,
                "type-unsupported": 0,
                "undetected": 2
            },
            "last_modification_date": 1592141790,
            "last_submission_date": 1592141610,
            "md5": "5a430646b4d3c04f0b43b444ad48443f",
            "meaningful_name": "o4oz44Z4E444.exe",
            "names": [
                "myfile.exe",
                "o4oz44Z4E444.exe"
            ],
            "reputation": 0,
            "sandbox_verdicts": {
                "VirusTotal Jujubox": {
                    "category": "malicious",
                    "confidence": 70,
                    "malware_classification": [
                        "MALWARE",
                        "TROJAN"
                    ],
                    "malware_names": [
                        "XMRigMiner"
                    ],
                    "sandbox_name": "VirusTotal Jujubox"
                },
            },
            "sha1": "54fdf53af86f90bf446f0a5fe26f6e4fd5f4c9fd",
            "sha256": "3f6fa13af90cf967f0b5f5d07f413f9d1f39d2fa366f09ff760fcd3fd8bf6fbf",
			"sigma_analysis_summary": {
				"Sigma Integrated Rule Set (GitHub)": {
					"high": 0,
					"medium": 0,
					"critical": 0,
					"low": 1
				},
				"SOC Prime Threat Detection Marketplace": {
					"high": 1,
					"medium": 0,
					"critical": 0,
					"low": 0
				}
			},
			"sigma_analysis_stats": {
				"high": 1,
				"medium": 0,
				"critical": 0,
				"low": 1
			},
			"sigma_analysis_results": [
				{
					"rule_title": "File deletion via CMD (via cmdline)",
					"rule_source": "SOC Prime Threat Detection Marketplace",
					"match_context": [
						{
							"values": {
								"TerminalSessionId": "0",
								"ProcessGuid": "C784477D-ED34-629E-4105-000000003000",
								"ProcessId": "4164",
								"Product": "Microsoft® Windows® Operating System",
								"Description": "Windows Command Processor",
								"Company": "Microsoft Corporation",
								"ParentProcessGuid": "C784477D-ED16-629E-2305-000000003000",
								"User": "NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM",
								"Hashes": "MD5=4E2ACF4F8A396486AB4268C94A6A245F,SHA256=9A7C58BD98D70631AA1473F7B57B426DB367D72429A5455B433A05EE251F3236,IMPHASH=8542FB14699D84D7E8DA92F66145C7FE",
								"OriginalFileName": "Cmd.Exe",
								"ParentImage": "C:\\Program Files\\rempl\\sedlauncher.exe",
								"FileVersion": "10.0.17134.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)",
								"ParentProcessId": "5204",
								"CurrentDirectory": "C:\\Windows\\system32\\",
								"CommandLine": "C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe /c C:\\Windows\\System32\\ipconfig.exe /flushdns >C:\\Windows\\TEMP\\ipconfig.out 2>&1",
								"EventID": "1",
								"LogonGuid": "C784477D-EC60-629E-E703-000000000000",
								"LogonId": "999",
								"Image": "C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe",
								"IntegrityLevel": "System",
								"ParentCommandLine": "\"C:\\Program Files\\rempl\\sedlauncher.exe\"",
								"UtcTime": "2022-06-07 06:16:20.702",
								"RuleName": "-"
							}
						},
						{
							"values": {
								"TerminalSessionId": "0",
								"ProcessGuid": "C784477D-ED34-629E-4405-000000003000",
								"ProcessId": "1368",
								"Product": "Microsoft® Windows® Operating System",
								"Description": "Windows Command Processor",
								"Company": "Microsoft Corporation",
								"ParentProcessGuid": "C784477D-ED16-629E-2305-000000003000",
								"User": "NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM",
								"Hashes": "MD5=4E2ACF4F8A396486AB4268C94A6A245F,SHA256=9A7C58BD98D70631AA1473F7B57B426DB367D72429A5455B433A05EE251F3236,IMPHASH=8542FB14699D84D7E8DA92F66145C7FE",
								"OriginalFileName": "Cmd.Exe",
								"ParentImage": "C:\\Program Files\\rempl\\sedlauncher.exe",
								"FileVersion": "10.0.17134.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)",
								"ParentProcessId": "5204",
								"CurrentDirectory": "C:\\Windows\\system32\\",
								"CommandLine": "C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe /c C:\\Windows\\System32\\netsh.exe interface ip delete arpcache >C:\\Windows\\TEMP\\ipconfig.out 2>&1",
								"EventID": "1",
								"LogonGuid": "C784477D-EC60-629E-E703-000000000000",
								"LogonId": "999",
								"Image": "C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe",
								"IntegrityLevel": "System",
								"ParentCommandLine": "\"C:\\Program Files\\rempl\\sedlauncher.exe\"",
								"UtcTime": "2022-06-07 06:16:20.741",
								"RuleName": "-"
							}
						}
					],
					"rule_level": "high",
					"rule_description": "Detects \"cmd\" utilization to self-delete files in some critical Windows destinations.",
					"rule_author": "Ariel Millahuel",
					"rule_id": "f9333cf120369debd56e4e238fffa10bdb2a1497c11e08a082befd02f9f3bdf2"
				},
				{
					"rule_title": "Failed Code Integrity Checks",
					"rule_source": "Sigma Integrated Rule Set (GitHub)",
					"match_context": [
						{
							"values": {
								"EventID": "5038",
								"param1": "\\Device\\HarddiskVolume4\\Program Files (x86)\\sandbox\\driver\\sandbox-driver.sys"
							}
						}
					],
					"rule_level": "low",
					"rule_description": "Code integrity failures may indicate tampered executables.",
					"rule_author": "Thomas Patzke",
					"rule_id": "134564d292d785dff102940b8a1ee06dba2d462c5fb852124b3771a49d7885f1"
				}
			],
            "size": 374272,
            "tags": [
                "peexe",
                "runtime-modules",
                "assembly",
                "direct-cpu-clock-access",
                "detect-debug-environment"
            ],
            "times_submitted": 3,
            "total_votes": {
                "harmless": 0,
                "malicious": 0
            },
            "type_description": "Win32 EXE",
            "type_tag": "exe",
            "type_tag": "peexe",
            "unique_sources": 3,
            "vhash": "2350f6f515f29f93f147f0f0"
        },
        "id": "3f6fa13af90cf967f0b5f5d07f413f9d1f39d2fa366f09ff760fcd3fd8bf6fbf",
        "links": {
            "self": "https://www.virustotal.com/ui/files/3f6fa13af90cf967f0b5f5d07f413f9d1f39d2fa366f09ff760fcd3fd8bf6fbf"
        },
        "type": "file"
    }
}

Relationships

In addition to the previously described attributes (and the ones described in the following subsections), File objects contain relationships with other objects in our dataset that can be retrieved as explained in the Relationships section.

The following table shows a summary of available relationships for file objects.

RelationshipDescriptionAccessibilityReturn object type
analysesAnalyses for the fileVT Enterprise users only.A list of Analyses
behavioursBehaviour reports for the file. See File behaviour.Everyone.A list of File behaviour.
bundled_filesFiles bundled within the file.Everyone.A list of Files.
carbonblack_childrenFiles derived from the file according to Carbon Black.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
carbonblack_parentsFiles from where the file was derived according to Carbon Black.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
ciphered_bundled_filesFiles within a ciphered bundle.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
ciphered_parentsCompressed bundle files where a file is contained.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
cluesClues for the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Clues.
collectionsCollections where the file is present.Everyone.A list of Collections
commentsComments for the file.Everyone.A list of Comments.
compressed_parentsCompressed files that contain the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
contacted_domainsDomains contacted by the file.Everyone.A list of Domains.
contacted_ipsIP addresses contacted by the file.Everyone.A list of IP addresses.
contacted_urlsURLs contacted by the file.Everyone.A list of URLs.
dropped_filesFiles dropped by the file during its execution.Everyone.A list of Files.
email_attachmentsFiles attached to the email.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
email_parentsEmail files that contained the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
embedded_domainsDomain names embedded in the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Domains.
embedded_ipsIP addresses embedded in the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of IP addresses.
embedded_urlsURLs embedded in the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of URLs.
execution_parentsFiles that executed the file.Everyone.A list of Files.
graphsGraphs that include the file.Everyone.A list of Graphs.
itw_domainsIn the wild domain names from where the file has been downloaded.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Domains.
itw_ipsIn the wild IP addresses from where the file has been downloaded.VT Enterprise users only.A list of IP addresses.
itw_urlsIn the wild URLs from where the file has been downloaded.VT Enterprise users only.A list of URLs.
overlay_childrenFiles contained by the file as an overlay.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
overlay_parentsFile that contain the file as an overlay.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
pcap_childrenFiles contained within the PCAP file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
pcap_parentsPCAP files that contain the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
pe_resource_childrenFiles contained by a PE file as a resource.Everyone.A list of Files.
pe_resource_parentsPE files containing the file as a resource.Everyone.A list of Files.
related_referencesReferences related to the file.VT Enterprise users with Threat Landscape (1)A list of References.
related_threat_actorsThreat actors related to the file.VT Enterprise users with Threat Landscape (1)A list of Threat Actors.
similar_filesFiles that are similar to the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Files.
submissionsSubmissions for the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Submissions.
screenshotsScreenshots related to the sandbox execution of the file.VT Enterprise users only.A list of Screenshots.
votesVotes for the file.EveryoneA list of Votes.

(1) This endpoint requires you to have access to the Threat Landscape module, which only comes with our top packages