Possible Log4Shell Exploitation via Java Spawning Shell or Download Utility

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
linux
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-18
Updated
2026-09-18

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access → Execution
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Persistence

  4. Priv Esc

  5. Defense Evasion

  6. Cred Access

  7. Discovery

  8. Lateral Movement

  9. Collection

  10. C2

  11. Exfiltration

  12. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a Java process spawning a shell or file-download utility, a post-exploitation pattern following Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228) JNDI injection where the vulnerable Java application executes attacker commands to retrieve secondary payloads such as Mozi. Java processes launching wget, curl, or a shell warrant investigation for remote code execution.

Related detections9 linkedT1059 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Python pth Site Hook Written via FortiWeb Fabric Connector SQL Injection (via file_event)
Malicious Command Shell Spawned by SQL Server via Process Creation (via process_creation)
Suspicious Reconnaissance and Payload Download by Node Web Process
Malicious Text4Shell Apache Commons Text Interpolation Payload in HTTP Request
Possible Apache ActiveMQ RCE via Jolokia addNetworkConnector (via webserver)
Possible LiteLLM Unauthenticated Command Execution via MCP Test Endpoints (via webserver)
Possible Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance Command Injection via datetime.php (via webserver)
Possible Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Command Injection via License Keys-Status Endpoint (via webserver)
Possible Craft CMS RCE via Query-String CLI Option Injection
Possible Log4Shell Exploitation via Java Spawning Shell or Download Utility
Pivot detection · T1059 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.