
Summary
Identifies Windows MSI installations that originate from commonly abused web services and install a known remote monitoring and management (RMM) product. The rule correlates three events on the same host: (1) an MSI downloaded from a commonly abused web service domain, (2) the same user running that MSI with msiexec within 10 minutes, and (3) msiexec creating a known RMM executable within 5 minutes. The MSI download event is kept as the alert, while the rule attaches associated RMM executable creation activity to the same host to strengthen the correlation. The origin domains covered reflect developer artifact hosting, cloud object storage, file-sharing and public hosting services, CDN/public hosting, and decentralized storage, enumerated through extensive LIKE-based domain matching. The rule uses multipart host- and process-level events (file creation for MSI, msiexec start, and file creation of known RMM binaries) to build a cross-event chain. It is designed for Elastic Defend environments and emphasizes correlation rather than asserting malicious intent; legitimate IT/MSP deployments may generate similar behavior and appear as false positives. A companion rule exists for MSI installations from Internet-originated sources. MITRE ATT&CK mapping includes T1105 (Ingress Tool Transfer), T1219 (Remote Access Tools) with T1219.002 (Remote Desktop Software), and T1218.007 (Msiexec) under Defense Evasion and Command and Control.
Categories
- Endpoint
- Windows
Data Sources
- File
- Process
ATT&CK Techniques
- T1105
- T1219
- T1219.002
- T1218
- T1218.007
Created: 2026-08-07