Malicious Salat Stealer Microsoft Defender Disable via Multiple Set-MpPreference Flags (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects PowerShell invoking Set-MpPreference with the behavior, real-time, or script-scanning disable flags used by the Salat Stealer Rust loader to turn off Microsoft Defender protections before deploying its payload. Adversaries leverage this to blind endpoint protection ahead of credential theft and exfiltration, making early detection critical for stopping the intrusion.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685 — drag to rearrange

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Malicious Salat Stealer Microsoft Defender Disable via Multiple Set-MpPreference Flags (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1685 · 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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