Suspicious Child Process Spawned by Python Interpreter via Process Creation

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access → Execution

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
- T1195.002Compromise Software Supply Chain
Execution
- T1059.006Python
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects python.exe spawning living-off-the-land binaries such as calc.exe, curl.exe, cmd.exe, or powershell.exe, the import-time execution behavior of the malicious PyPI packages analyzed by Cisco Talos. Trojanized packages run payloads from __init__.py or setup.py the moment they are imported or installed. Flagging these child processes surfaces supply-chain code execution on developer and build hosts.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1195.002 — drag to rearrange

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SynkLoader Python Stager Execution from AppData via pythonw (via process_creation)

Suspicious Python Startup .pth File Creation for Interpreter Persistence

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Suspicious NPM Install Hook Executing Setup Script via Node

Suspicious Child Process Spawned by Python Interpreter via Process Creation

Pivot detection · T1195.002 · 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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