Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via Net.WebClient DownloadFile

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-22
Updated
2026-09-22

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → C2
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Persistence

  5. Priv Esc

  6. Defense Evasion

  7. Cred Access

  8. Discovery

  9. Lateral Movement

  10. Collection

  11. Exfiltration

  12. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects PowerShell invoking the Net.WebClient DownloadFile method, a download cradle used by KoiLoader shortcut droppers to retrieve secondary payloads. Scripted retrieval of remote files through the .NET web client is a common ingress technique for loaders and should be reviewed in context.

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange
Malicious ClickFix Clipboard Command Execution via PowerShell
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 Remote Download and Execution via Invoke-WebRequest
Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via ClickFix Fake CAPTCHA (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Download of lib.zip Archive
Malicious ActiveMQ Exploitation Java Spawning PowerShell Downloader (via process_creation)
Malicious In-Memory Payload Execution via PowerShell DownloadString (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via Net.WebClient DownloadFile
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.