Suspicious Curl from macOS Application

Last updated 12 days ago on 2026-01-30
Created 12 days ago on 2026-01-30

About

Detects the use of curl by a macOS application binary to connect to a raw IP URI and download a second stage payload. Threat actors often utilize a benign looking or legitimate application as a first stage dropper. Curl is commonly used as it doesn't enforce Gatekeeper checks.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: macOSUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Command and ControlData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
high
Risk Score
73
MITRE ATT&CK™

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

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

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.process-*
Related Integrations

endpoint(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
process where host.os.type == "macos" and event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and process.name in ("curl", "nscurl") and process.args in ("-o", "--output", "--download", "-dl", "-dir", "--directory") and process.args regex~ """http.*:\/\/[0-9]{2,3}.[0-9]{2,3}.[0-9]{2,3}.[0-9]{2,3}\/.*""" and process.parent.name like~ ("bash", "sh", "zsh", "osascript", "tclsh*", "python*") and process.Ext.effective_parent.executable like "/Applications/*" and process.args_count <= 10 and not process.args like "/Applications/*" and not process.Ext.effective_parent.executable in ("/Applications/iTerm.app/Contents/MacOS/iTerm2", "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/MacOS/Electron", "/Applications/Warp.app/Contents/MacOS/stable")

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Suspicious Curl from macOS Application 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(external, opens in a new tab or window).