Malicious ZharkBot Execution via Explert Masquerade in Temp via process_creation

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

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
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the ZharkBot payload running as explert.exe from a Temp directory, a name chosen to mimic the legitimate Windows explorer process. Execution of an explorer look alike out of a user Temp folder is highly abnormal and reflects the loader staging its main module. The combined misspelled name and untrusted path make this a strong indicator of ZharkBot activity.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious ZharkBot Execution via Explert Masquerade in Temp via process_creation

Pivot detection · T1036.005 · 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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