Suspicious Msiexec Execute Arbitrary DLL

Title: Suspicious Msiexec Execute Arbitrary DLL
Status: test
Description:Adversaries may abuse msiexec.exe to proxy execution of malicious payloads. Msiexec.exe is the command-line utility for the Windows Installer and is thus commonly associated with executing installation packages (.msi)
References:
  -https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/msiexec
  -https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1218.007/T1218.007.md
  -https://twitter.com/_st0pp3r_/status/1583914515996897281
Author: frack113
Date: 2022-01-16
modified:2026-01-09
Tags:

• -'attack.stealth'
• -'attack.t1218.007'

Logsource:

• category: process_creation
• product: windows

Detection:
  selection:
    Image|endswith: '\msiexec.exe'
    CommandLine|contains|windash: ' /Y'
  filter_main_legit_path:
    CommandLine|contains:
      -'\MsiExec.exe" /Y "C:\Program Files\'
      -'\MsiExec.exe" /Y "C:\Program Files (x86)\'
      -'\MsiExec.exe" /Y "C:\Windows\System32\'
      -'\MsiExec.exe" /Y "C:\Windows\SysWOW64\'

  condition:selection and not 1 of filter_main_*
Falsepositives:
  -Legitimate script
Level: medium