Suspicious Script Interpreter Spawned by Explorer via ClickFix Run Dialog (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Execution

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
- T1204.001Malicious Link
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects mshta.exe or powershell.exe launched directly by explorer.exe with an embedded URL, matching the ClickFix technique where victims paste an attacker command into the Windows Run dialog. Interactive launches of these interpreters with remote URLs from Explorer are unusual.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Script Interpreter Spawned by Explorer via ClickFix Run Dialog (via process_creation)

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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