Suspicious vbc.exe Spawned by Installer Process

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-13
Updated
2026-09-13

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Persistence

  5. Defense Evasion

  6. Cred Access

  7. Discovery

  8. Lateral Movement

  9. Collection

  10. C2

  11. Exfiltration

  12. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the Visual Basic compiler vbc.exe being launched by a Setup or installer process, the injection host behavior of malware spread through cracked-software YouTube lures. Attackers hollow vbc.exe to run beaconing code that persists after the installer exits. A compiler binary spawned by an installer and used as a network beacon host is highly anomalous.

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Suspicious vbc.exe Spawned by Installer Process
Pivot detection · T1204.002 · 9 related

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