huntrule

Suspicious Scripting Interpreter Execution From Downloads Or Temp via Reputation Hijacking

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-17
Updated
2026-09-17
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects trusted scripting and automation interpreters such as AutoHotkey JamPlus Lua or Node.js executing from user download or temporary directories which is the reputation hijacking technique used to bypass Smart App Control. Adversaries plant a malicious script alongside a reputable interpreter binary so the resulting execution inherits the interpreter good reputation to evade defenses.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious Scripting Interpreter Execution From Downloads Or Temp via Reputation Hijacking
Pivot detection · T1036 · 9 related

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