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

ATT&CK techniques

C2

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1105Ingress Tool Transfer
Exfiltration
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

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

Pivot detection · T1105 · 9 related

Changelog

v2

v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
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.

windows-desktopimgdownldr-exe-remote-file-download-execution-214641c2

title: Windows desktopimgdownldr.exe Remote File Download via /lockscreenurl:http
id: 5e0fc3cf-4321-4a2c-bbe8-26ca7a2525a5
status: test
description: 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.
references:
  - https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/remote-file-download-via-desktopimgdownldr-utility.html
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_desktopimgdownldr_remote_file_download.yml
author: Tim Rauch, Elastic (idea), Huntrule Team
date: 2022-09-27
tags:
  - attack.command-and-control
  - attack.t1105
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    Image|endswith: \desktopimgdownldr.exe
    ParentImage|endswith: \desktopimgdownldr.exe
    CommandLine|contains: /lockscreenurl:http
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 214641c2-c579-4ecb-8427-0cf19df6842e
    type: derived

Convert

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