DET0138 Detection of Malicious Code Execution via InstallUtil.exe
| Item |
Value |
| ID |
DET0138 |
| Version |
1.0 |
| Created |
21 October 2025 |
| Last Modified |
21 October 2025 |
Technique Detected: T1218.004 (InstallUtil)
Analytics
Windows
AN0388
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.
Log Sources
Mutable Elements
| 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 |