Malicious REF5961 PsExec-Style Remote Service Execution from Windows Help Directory via Process Creation

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-17
Updated
2026-09-17

ATT&CK techniques

Lateral Movement
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Collection

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects PsExec-style remote execution that runs a payload as a service from the Windows help directory as seen in the REF5961 intrusion set deploying RUDEBIRD, where an actor uses the accepteula system service flags together with a help directory path to move laterally and run code under a masqueraded location for stealth.

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Malicious REF5961 PsExec-Style Remote Service Execution from Windows Help Directory 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.