huntrule

Windows Process Execution: Suspicious AgentExecutor.exe PowerShell Launch with ExecutionPolicy Bypass

Detects AgentExecutor.exe command lines that trigger PowerShell script execution, including remediations and potentially bypassed ExecutionPolicy.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), memory-shards (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-12-24
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

This rule matches process creation events where AgentExecutor.exe is executed with command-line flags that trigger spawning PowerShell (including -powershell and -remediationScript). This matters because AgentExecutor.exe can be used as a proxy to run PowerShell under different execution-policy settings, potentially bypassing restrictions. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry fields for Image/OriginalFileName and CommandLine, and it filters out activity likely originating from standard PowerShell paths or Intune's management agent parent process.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1218 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious .NET LOLBin Execution via CasPol or RegAsm
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 Process Execution: Suspicious AgentExecutor.exe PowerShell Launch with ExecutionPolicy Bypass
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.