Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via ClickFix Fake CAPTCHA (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → C2

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1105Ingress Tool Transfer
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a PowerShell download cradle where Invoke-WebRequest output is piped directly into Invoke-Expression, a pattern used by ClickFix fake CAPTCHA lures to fetch and execute remote script payloads. This exact one-liner is rarely produced by legitimate administration.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange

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Malicious PowerShell IEX DownloadString One-Liner

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Suspicious PowerShell Downloader Spawned by Batch Script (via process_creation)

Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via ClickFix Fake CAPTCHA (via process_creation)

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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