Suspicious C2 Beacon via cpp-httplib User Agent

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Category
proxy
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-05-30
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

C2
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects outbound HTTP requests carrying the cpp-httplib user agent, matching the Potemkin loader command-and-control channel observed with the test_agent identifier. The loader is built on the cpp-httplib library and this user agent rarely appears in legitimate enterprise browsing. Its presence in proxy or web telemetry indicates loader check-in and tasking.

Related detections9 linkedT1071.001 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Data Exfiltration via curl with Stealer Specific BuildID Header
Suspicious Shadow File Exfiltration Over Dev TCP on Linux via Process Creation (via process_creation)
Suspicious Netcat Reverse Shell via Named Pipe on Linux via Process Creation (via process_creation)
Malicious GenAI Browser Extension C2 and PAC Redirection (via proxy)
Possible Prometei Botnet C2 URI Pattern
Malicious PUBLOAD Fake Windows Update C2 Request via Proxy (via proxy)
Possible Lampion C2 Beacon With dados Parameter
Suspicious Non-Standard HTTP Methods Used for Covert C2 (via proxy)
Malicious Splinter Post-Exploitation Implant C2 URI Pattern (via proxy)
Suspicious C2 Beacon via cpp-httplib User Agent
Pivot detection · T1071.001 · 9 related

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