Suspicious Remote HTA Execution via Mshta (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1218.005Mshta
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects mshta.exe fetching and running an HTA payload from a remote URL, the initial execution step of the infostealer campaign targeting the Italian region. Abusing the signed mshta binary to run remote scripted content bypasses application controls and stages later stealer components.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1218.005 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Kimsuky Remote HTA Payload Execution via mshta (via process_creation)

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Suspicious Command Interpreter Spawned by mshta (via process_creation)

Suspicious Remote HTA Execution via Mshta (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1218.005 · 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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