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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Suspicious StrelaStealer DLL Execution via Rundll32 Hello Export from Temp (via process_creation)

Malicious Scheduled rundll32 Execution of ProgramData VMware DLL by BianLian

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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