Suspicious VMware Tools Binary Executing from Non-Standard Path

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1036.005Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a process named vmtools.exe or vmwared.exe running from a directory outside the legitimate VMware installation tree. CL-STA-1062 masquerades its loader as VMware guest tooling to evade analyst scrutiny on virtualized targets. Spotting the trusted filename in the wrong path exposes a masqueraded implant rather than genuine VMware software.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious VMware Tools Binary Executing from Non-Standard Path

Pivot detection · T1036.005 · 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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