huntrule

Windows desktopimgdownldr.exe Remote File Download via /lockscreenurl:http

Flags desktopimgdownldr.exe executions that specify a remote lockscreen URL via /lockscreenurl:http.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Tim Rauch, Elastic (idea) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-09-27
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

C2

  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 identifies execution of desktopimgdownldr.exe on Windows where the command line includes /lockscreenurl:http, indicating a remote file retrieval attempt. Adversaries can abuse this utility to pull external content as an alternative download mechanism. The detection relies on process creation telemetry capturing the image path, parent image, and command-line arguments containing the HTTP URL indicator.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1105 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Remote Script Transfer via Bitsadmin (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via ClickFix Fake CAPTCHA (via process_creation)
Malicious Curl MSI Download to ProgramData via Process Creation
Suspicious CloudZ RAT Payload Download via curl to ProgramData
Suspicious Velociraptor Agent Deployment via msiexec From Cloud Storage
Suspicious PowerShell Download of lib.zip Archive
Suspicious File Download Via Bitsadmin Transfer
Suspicious PowerShell Download Of Text-Disguised Payload
Explorer WebDAV UNC Download Using At-Port Syntax
Windows desktopimgdownldr.exe Remote File Download via /lockscreenurl:http
Pivot detection · T1105 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. v1
    No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

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