In-Memory Reverse Shell and In-Memory Payload Staging During Ivanti CSA Exploitation (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Execution

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.004Unix Shell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects reverse shell establishment through netcat with the command-execution flag spawning a shell, or payload staging into the memory-backed /dev/shm directory, both observed during Houken exploitation of Ivanti Cloud Service Appliance devices. Adversaries leverage these techniques to obtain interactive access and stage tooling without touching disk, making early detection critical for catching hands-on-keyboard activity on the appliance.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.004 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Base64 Decoded Shell Dropper via Command Line

Possible Mirai IoT Payload Staging via chmod on Linux (via process_creation)

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Suspicious Base64 Bash Execution via nohup on macOS via ClickFix (via process_creation)

In-Memory Reverse Shell and In-Memory Payload Staging During Ivanti CSA Exploitation (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1059.004 · 9 related

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