sigmamediumHunting

Powershell Executed From Headless ConHost Process

Detects the use of powershell commands from headless ConHost window. The "--headless" flag hides the windows from the user upon execution.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1059.001 T1059.003 T1564.003

defense-evasionexecution

Detection Query

selection_img:
  - Image|endswith: \conhost.exe
  - OriginalFileName: CONHOST.EXE
selection_cli:
  CommandLine|contains|all:
    - --headless
    - powershell
condition: all of selection_*

Author

Matt Anderson (Huntress)

Created

2024-07-23

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

https://www.huntress.com/blog/fake-browser-updates-lead-to-boinc-volunteer-computing-software

Tags

attack.defense-evasionattack.executionattack.t1059.001attack.t1059.003attack.t1564.003

Raw Content

title: Powershell Executed From Headless ConHost Process
id: 056c7317-9a09-4bd4-9067-d051312752ea
related:
    - id: 00ca75ab-d5ce-43be-b86c-55ff39c6abfc
      type: derived
status: test
description: |
    Detects the use of powershell commands from headless ConHost window.
    The "--headless" flag hides the windows from the user upon execution.
references:
    - https://www.huntress.com/blog/fake-browser-updates-lead-to-boinc-volunteer-computing-software
author: Matt Anderson (Huntress)
date: 2024-07-23
tags:
    - attack.defense-evasion
    - attack.execution
    - attack.t1059.001
    - attack.t1059.003
    - attack.t1564.003
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\conhost.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'CONHOST.EXE'
    selection_cli:
        CommandLine|contains|all:
            - '--headless'
            - 'powershell'
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium
regression_tests_path: regression_data/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_conhost_headless_powershell/info.yml