huntrule

Windows: Detect devinit.exe MSI download flag combo (-t msi-install, -i http)

Alerts on devinit.exe command lines that combine MSI install with an HTTP download source.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-01-11
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

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

Identifies process creations where devinit.exe is invoked with a specific command-line flag combination that directs it to install an MSI from an HTTP URL. Attackers can abuse this LOLBIN behavior to fetch and execute arbitrary MSI payloads without using a dedicated downloader. The rule relies on Windows process creation telemetry and matches on exact command-line substrings present in the invoked command line.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1218 — drag to rearrange
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Possible DarkGate DLL Sideloading via iTunesHelper Loading CoreFoundation
Suspicious extrac32 CAB Extraction Abuse
Malicious cdb.exe Masquerading as fontdrvhost in ProgramData (via process_creation)
Malicious certutil Decodehex Payload Reconstruction by DarkGate
Malicious MSIX Package Execution via App Installer ms-appinstaller Protocol (via process_creation)
Malicious ViPNet Backdoor Loader via lumpdiag.exe Path Substitution
Suspicious BitLockerToGo Execution from Unusual Parent
Suspicious Proxy Execution via pcalua
Windows: Detect devinit.exe MSI download flag combo (-t msi-install, -i http)
Pivot detection · T1218 · 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.