Masquerading XWorm Persistence via MicrosoftVisualUpdater Scheduled Task (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Persistence
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Priv Esc
- T1053.005Scheduled Task
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the creation of a scheduled task named MicrosoftVisualUpdater, the persistence mechanism used by a new XWorm variant to relaunch its VsEnhance.bat script one minute after creation and then every fifteen minutes. The task name masquerades as a Microsoft component, so its creation is a reliable persistence signal for this XWorm chain.

Reporting behind it

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Masquerading XWorm Persistence via MicrosoftVisualUpdater Scheduled Task (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1053.005 · 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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