Malicious NetExec SMB Enumeration Execution (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery → Lateral Movement

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
- T1046Network Service Discovery
Lateral Movement
- T1021.002SMB/Windows Admin Shares
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects execution of the NetExec offensive tool via its nxc binary against the SMB protocol. Lynx actors used NetExec for network discovery and lateral movement across SMB. NetExec is a purpose-built post-exploitation framework with little legitimate enterprise use.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1021.002 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious NetExec Post-Exploitation Tool Execution via nxc (via process_creation)

Suspicious Advanced IP Scanner Execution for Network Discovery

Malicious NetExec SMB Enumeration Execution (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1021.002 · 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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