Techniques › T1218.004 › AN0388
AN0388 Analytic 0388
Windows · attack.mitre.org · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2
<p>Execution of InstallUtil.exe from .NET framework directories with arguments specifying non-standard or attacker-supplied assemblies, especially when followed by suspicious child process creation or script execution. Detection also includes correlation of newly created binaries prior to InstallUtil invocation and anomalous command-line usage compared to historical baselines.</p>
- Detects
- T1218.004 InstallUtil
- Part of
- DET0138 Detection of Malicious Code Execution via InstallUtil.exe
Log sources and channels
Exactly as MITRE states them in x_mitre_log_source_references. Where a channel is vague, it is vague in the source; kevmap does not tidy it.
| Log source | Channel | Data component |
|---|---|---|
| WinEventLog:PowerShell | EventCode=4103, 4104, 4105, 4106 | DC0064 Command Execution |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=1 | DC0032 Process Creation |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=11 | DC0039 File Creation |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=7 | DC0016 Module Load |
Mutable elements
Parameters MITRE marks as environment-specific. These are the knobs you are expected to tune; they are why an analytic is not a rule.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
InstallUtilPathRegex | Regex pattern for InstallUtil.exe in .NET directories; tune to exclude known good administrative scripts |
AssemblyPathRegex | Patterns for identifying suspicious assemblies (e.g., in temp folders, user profiles) |
ChildProcessList | List of suspicious child processes spawned from InstallUtil.exe (e.g., cmd.exe, powershell.exe, rundll32.exe) |
TimeWindow | Time correlation window between file creation of assembly and its execution via InstallUtil.exe |