Suspicious Antivirus Uninstallation via msiexec (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1218.007Msiexec
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects msiexec launched with a quiet uninstall of an installed product, a technique CACTUS ransomware uses to silently remove endpoint antivirus. Uninstalling security agents through the trusted Windows installer disables protection ahead of credential theft and encryption.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685 — drag to rearrange

Suspicious Defender Exclusion Added via Add-MpPreference (via process_creation)

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Suspicious rundll32 Execution Without Command Line Arguments (via process_creation)

Malicious EDRKillShifter Defense Evasion Tool Execution Linked to RansomHub

Suspicious RDP Enablement via netsh Firewall Rule

Suspicious Kernel Driver Written to AppData Temp Linked to RansomHub EDR Killers

Suspicious Windows Defender Service Disabled via Registry (via registry_set)

Suspicious Windows Defender or Firewall Service Disabled via Registry

Malicious Windows Defender Service Disable via Registry

Suspicious Antivirus Uninstallation via msiexec (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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