huntrule

Windows Process Creation: CoercedPotato.exe Execution via ExploitId Parameters

Flags Windows process creation for CoercedPotato.exe with --exploitId and known IMPHASH values.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2023-10-11
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Defense Evasion

  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 process creation events where a command line invokes CoercedPotato.exe with an "--exploitId" argument. CoercedPotato is used for privilege escalation, so attacker execution of it is a strong indicator of attempted elevation. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry including the executable image path, command-line arguments, and matching IMPHASH values.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1055 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Office Application Spawning Script Or Shell Interpreter
Suspicious Network Connection From wabmig.exe (Turian Injection)
Suspicious Outbound Network Connection from Explorer Process
Suspicious AppLaunch.exe Spawned As Injection Target (via process_creation)
Suspicious BugSleep Marker File in Public Directory
Suspicious CRAT Injection Named Pipe ChromeUpdatePipe (via pipe_created)
AsyncRAT Injector libPK.dll Written to Public Folder (via file_event)
FlawedGrace spawning threat injection target
In-Memory Ramnit Process Injection Target Spawned by WmiPrvSE in drIBAN Fraud Operation (via process_creation)
Windows Process Creation: CoercedPotato.exe Execution via ExploitId Parameters
Pivot detection · T1055 · 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.