Masquerading Firewall Allow Rule Masquerading as Windows Defender Update Service via Netsh (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 netsh adding an advfirewall rule named to impersonate a Windows Defender update service, a defense-evasion step in the Salat Stealer chain that whitelists its own network traffic. Adversaries leverage a benign-looking firewall rule name to allow C2 and exfiltration traffic while blending into legitimate configuration, so this behavior warrants review alongside surrounding activity.

Reporting behind it

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Masquerading Firewall Allow Rule Masquerading as Windows Defender Update Service via Netsh (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1686 · 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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