Suspicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Memory Diagnostic Running Script Host

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-06-17
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Priv Esc
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Defense Evasion

  5. Cred Access

  6. Discovery

  7. Lateral Movement

  8. Collection

  9. C2

  10. Exfiltration

  11. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of a scheduled task named RunFullMemoryDiagnostic or ProcessMemoryDiagnosticEvents whose action launches a script host, mimicking legitimate Windows memory diagnostic tasks. LitterDrifter abuses these trusted task names to blend its persistence into normal Windows components. The mismatch between the trusted name and a script host action reveals the worm persistence.

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Pivot detection · T1053.005 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.