Remote File Download via Script Interpreter

Last updated 5 months ago on 2025-03-20
Created 5 years ago on 2020-11-29

About

Identifies built-in Windows script interpreters (cscript.exe or wscript.exe) being used to download an executable file from a remote destination.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Command and ControlTactic: ExecutionData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: SysmonLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Command and Control (TA0011)(opens in a new tab or window)

Execution (TA0002)(opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
winlogbeat-*logs-endpoint.events.network-*logs-endpoint.events.file-*logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

windows(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
sequence by host.id, process.entity_id
  [network where host.os.type == "windows" and process.name : ("wscript.exe", "cscript.exe") and network.protocol != "dns" and
   network.direction : ("outgoing", "egress") and network.type == "ipv4" and destination.ip != "127.0.0.1"
  ]
  [file where host.os.type == "windows" and event.type == "creation" and file.extension : ("exe", "dll")]

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Remote File Download via Script Interpreter in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).