Malicious Axios NPM RAT Renamed PowerShell Execution via wt.exe

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1036.005Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a PowerShell binary copied to wt.exe under ProgramData and executed with a hidden window and execution policy bypass, matching the Axios NPM supply chain incident where a post-install hook drops a RAT. Renaming powershell.exe to wt.exe masquerades the interpreter as Windows Terminal to evade name-based detection. Execution of a masqueraded interpreter from ProgramData with bypass flags is a strong compromise indicator.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Axios NPM RAT Renamed PowerShell Execution via wt.exe

Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

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