Suspicious NodeLoader Defender Exclusion for ProgramData via PowerShell (via process_creation)

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-11-05
Updated
2026-11-05

ATT&CK techniques

  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. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects NodeLoader adding a Windows Defender exclusion for the entire ProgramData directory through PowerShell so its dropped miner and payloads evade scanning. A broad ProgramData exclusion added by script is a strong evasion signal.

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Suspicious NodeLoader Defender Exclusion for ProgramData via PowerShell (via process_creation)
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Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.