Suspicious PowerShell Bypass Spawned by wscript Script Host

ATT&CK techniques

Execution

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
- T1059.007JavaScript
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects wscript spawning PowerShell with an execution policy bypass, the initial handoff in a Huntress-analyzed malspam-to-loader chain that led to an in-memory .NET loader. A script host launching PowerShell with bypass flags reflects a scripted download-and-execute stage rather than normal administration. This parent-child pattern is a common malspam loader behavior.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious PowerShell Bypass Spawned by wscript Script Host

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.

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