File with Right-to-Left Override Character (RTLO) Created/Executed

Last updated 9 months ago on 2025-03-20

Created a year ago on 2025-01-20

About

Identifies the creation or execution of files or processes with names containing the Right-to-Left Override (RTLO) character, which can be used to disguise the file extension and trick users into executing malicious files.

Tags

Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Defense EvasionData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: SysmonData Source: Microsoft Defender for EndpointData Source: SentinelOneLanguage: eql

Severity

medium

Risk Score

MITRE ATT&CK™

Defense Evasion (TA0005)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Masquerading (T1036)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

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

↳ User Execution (T1204)(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

winlogbeat-*logs-endpoint.events.process-*logs-endpoint.events.file-*logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*logs-m365_defender.event-*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*endgame-*

Related Integrations

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

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

m365_defender(external, opens in a new tab or window)

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

Query

✄𐘗text code block:
✄𐘗any where host.os.type == "windows" and event.category in ("file", "process") and 
  (
    (event.type == "creation" and file.path : "*\u{202E}*") or 
    (event.type == "start" and process.name : "*\u{202E}*")
  )

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect File with Right-to-Left Override Character (RTLO) Created/Executed 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).