Suspicious PowerShell Spawned by cscript in Script Chain

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 PowerShell being launched by cscript.exe, matching the GootLoader wscript to cscript to PowerShell execution chain. Attackers use this scripted lineage to stage the loader and pull down follow-on payloads while appearing script-driven. A Windows Script Host interpreter spawning PowerShell is a common malware-loader hand-off worth alerting on.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious PowerShell Spawned by cscript in Script Chain

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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