Suspicious Hidden PowerShell Web Download via ClickFix Tactic

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access → Execution

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
- T1189Drive-by Compromise
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects PowerShell launched with a hidden window and no profile that immediately downloads and starts a remote payload. IClickFix and related WordPress driven ClickFix campaigns trick users into pasting this command from a fake verification prompt. The combination of a hidden window a bypassed profile and an inline web download reflects unattended payload retrieval rather than normal administration.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange

Malicious MS-SQL Server Spawning Command Shell via Mallox

Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle to Blogspot (via process_creation)

Suspicious Script Host Spawning PowerShell Download Cradle (via process_creation)

Suspicious Renamed PowerShell Binary Execution (via process_creation)

Suspicious PowerShell Executing Code from Environment Variable (via process_creation)

Suspicious Rename of Double-Extension PowerShell Script (via process_creation)

Suspicious In-Memory Runspace Execution via PowerShell Script Block

Suspicious PowerShell Payload Extraction from PNG Polyglot via findstr

Suspicious Hidden PowerShell WebClient DownloadFile Cradle

Suspicious Hidden PowerShell Web Download via ClickFix Tactic

Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 9 related

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

Full detection rule

Unlock this rule to view and copy it

The detection logic is included with a plan. Everything else — context, mappings and implementation details — stays free on this page.

Sign in for 3 free unlocks

Signing in gives you 3 unlocks to spend on any rule in the library. No card, and they do not expire.

Also included

Unlocked rules convert on this page — to Splunk SPL or Splunk — Raw Index SPL or Microsoft Sentinel KQL or Microsoft Sentinel ASIM ASIM KQL or Microsoft Defender XDR KQL or Elastic Security KQL or Elastic Security Lucene or Elastic Security ES|QL or CrowdStrike Falcon CQL or SentinelOne PowerQuery or Palo Alto Cortex XDR XQL or Carbon Black Cloud Platform Search or Carbon Black EDR Process Search or Google Security Operations UDM Search or IBM QRadar AQL or Sumo Logic Cloud SIEM Rules expression or Rapid7 InsightIDR LEQL or Graylog Search or OpenSearch Lucene or OpenSearch PPL PPL or Grafana Loki LogQL or SQLite SQL or Zircolite SQLite — with the log-source profile the engine picked, the field map it used, and everything it could not express. Converting a rule you have unlocked costs no further credit.

See it run on a free rule →Convert your own rule →