Windows: Detect CoercedPotato.exe Privilege Escalation Execution

title: "Windows: Detect CoercedPotato.exe Privilege Escalation Execution"
id: 68ea78cb-c447-41bd-af54-dfe46c5c6536
status: test
description: This rule identifies execution of the CoercedPotato privilege-escalation tool by matching process creation events where the executable ends with "\CoercedPotato.exe" and the command line contains " --exploitId ". It further narrows matches using a set of known IMPHASH values associated with the tool. This behavior matters because CoercedPotato is used to escalate privileges, and attackers rely on process execution and crafted command-line parameters to trigger the exploit.
references:
  - https://github.com/hackvens/CoercedPotato
  - https://blog.hackvens.fr/articles/CoercedPotato.html
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_hktl_coercedpotato.yml
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2023-10-11
modified: 2024-11-23
tags:
  - attack.privilege-escalation
  - attack.stealth
  - attack.t1055
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_loader_img:
    Image|endswith: \CoercedPotato.exe
  selection_params:
    CommandLine|contains: " --exploitId "
  selection_loader_imphash:
    Hashes|contains:
      - IMPHASH=A75D7669DB6B2E107A44C4057FF7F7D6
      - IMPHASH=F91624350E2C678C5DCBE5E1F24E22C9
      - IMPHASH=14C81850A079A87E83D50CA41C709A15
  condition: 1 of selection_*
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: e8d34729-86a4-4140-adfd-0a29c2106307
    type: derived