Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via Invoke-WebRequest Piped to iex (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 that retrieves content with Invoke-WebRequest and executes it through iex, the secondary SMOKESABER stage in Group-IB ClickFix intrusions. Adversaries use this in-memory fetch-and-execute pattern to run remote scripts without touching disk, making it a reliable indicator of staged payload delivery.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via Net.WebClient DownloadFile

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Suspicious PIKABOT PowerShell Download to Public Directory via Process Creation

Suspicious PowerShell Script Fetching Remote Batch File From Paste Site (via ps_script)

Suspicious PowerShell Download of Payload From Pastebin (via process_creation)

Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via Invoke-WebRequest Piped to iex (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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