Malicious LOLBin Download Saved as Windows Utility ping.exe via certutil or curl

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion → C2

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1036.005Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1105Ingress Tool Transfer
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects use of certutil or curl to download a remote file and save it under the name of a legitimate Windows utility such as ping.exe. The Mysterious Elephant APT used this masquerading technique to stage payloads disguised as trusted system binaries. Writing downloaded content to a well-known utility name in a non-System32 location is a strong indicator of ingress tool transfer combined with defense evasion.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious LOLBin Download Saved as Windows Utility ping.exe via certutil or curl

Pivot detection · T1105 · 9 related

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