sigmamediumHunting

Msxsl.EXE Execution

Detects the execution of the MSXSL utility. This can be used to execute Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) files. These files are commonly used to describe the processing and rendering of data within XML files. Adversaries can abuse this functionality to execute arbitrary files while potentially bypassing application whitelisting defenses.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1220

defense-evasion

Detection Query

selection:
  Image|endswith: \msxsl.exe
condition: selection

Author

Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community

Created

2019-10-21

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.defense-evasionattack.t1220

Raw Content

title: Msxsl.EXE Execution
id: 9e50a8b3-dd05-4eb8-9153-bdb6b79d50b0
status: test
description: |
    Detects the execution of the MSXSL utility. This can be used to execute Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) files. These files are commonly used to describe the processing and rendering of data within XML files.
    Adversaries can abuse this functionality to execute arbitrary files while potentially bypassing application whitelisting defenses.
references:
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1220/T1220.md
    - https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/OtherMSBinaries/Msxsl/
author: Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community
date: 2019-10-21
modified: 2023-11-09
tags:
    - attack.defense-evasion
    - attack.t1220
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '\msxsl.exe'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Msxsl is not installed by default and is deprecated, so unlikely on most systems.
# Note: If you levreage this utility please consider adding additional filters. As this is looking for "any" type of execition
level: medium