Suspicious ctfmon.exe Execution With Command-Line Arguments via PikaBot Injection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
- T1055.012Process Hollowing
Defense Evasion
- T1055.012Process Hollowing
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects ctfmon.exe launched with command-line parameters, which is anomalous because the legitimate Text Services process normally runs without arguments. PikaBot spawns a suspended ctfmon.exe with a numeric switch such as -p 1234 to host injected shellcode through thread hijacking. Catching this deviation exposes early stage process injection used to evade endpoint controls.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious ctfmon.exe Execution With Command-Line Arguments via PikaBot Injection

Pivot detection · T1055.012 · 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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