Suspicious Proxy Execution of rundll32 Control_RunDLL via pcalua.exe (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1218.011Rundll32
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the Program Compatibility Assistant launcher pcalua.exe being used to run rundll32 with shell32.dll Control_RunDLL, a living off the land chain that the RedCurl EarthKapre APT uses to proxy execution of its payload. The pcalua binary masks the parent-child lineage of the launched code. This nested launcher and control panel invocation is not a normal user or administrator workflow.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1218.011 — drag to rearrange

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Malicious Rundll32 DllRegisterServer Execution From a User-Writable Path (via process_creation)

IMEEX Framework DLL Execution via Rundll32 Loading imaadp (via process_creation)

Suspicious Persistence via pcalua Launching rundll32 Control_RunDLL

Suspicious Rundll32 Executing DLL Start Export With Control Flags

Suspicious Rundll32 Execution of Timestamp-Named DLL

Suspicious Rundll32 Loading DLL from LocalAppData with Short Export (via process_creation)

Malicious Word Spawning Rundll32 Loading DLL from Roaming Word Folder

Suspicious Proxy Execution of rundll32 Control_RunDLL via pcalua.exe (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1218.011 · 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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