Techniques › T1204.001 › AN0178
AN0178 Analytic 0178
Windows · attack.mitre.org · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2
<p>Behavioral chain: (1) a user-facing app (browser/Office/email client) launches a URL or handles a link, then (2) the same process lineage makes an outbound connection to an untrusted domain/IP, (3) a file is downloaded or unpacked to a user-writable location shortly after the click. Optional enrichment: subsequent child execution by LOLBINs.</p>
- Detects
- T1204.001 Malicious Link
- Part of
- DET0066 User Execution – Malicious Link (click → suspicious egress → download/write → follow-on activity)
Log sources and channels
Exactly as MITRE states them in x_mitre_log_source_references. Where a channel is vague, it is vague in the source; kevmap does not tidy it.
| Log source | Channel | Data component |
|---|---|---|
| WinEventLog:Security | EventCode=4688 | DC0032 Process Creation |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=3, 22 | DC0082 Network Connection Creation |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=11 | DC0039 File Creation |
| NSM:Flow | Suspicious URL patterns, uncommon TLDs, short-lived domains, URL shorteners; HTTP method GET/POST | DC0085 Network Traffic Content |
Mutable elements
Parameters MITRE marks as environment-specific. These are the knobs you are expected to tune; they are why an analytic is not a rule.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
TimeWindow | Correlation window (e.g., 15m) between link click / first egress / file write. |
BrowserParents | Processes considered link sources: chrome.exe, msedge.exe, firefox.exe, winword.exe, outlook.exe, teams.exe. |
UserPaths | User-writable directories to monitor (%USERPROFILE%\Downloads, %TEMP%, %APPDATA%\*, OneDrive caches). |
SuspiciousTLDs | High-risk TLD and domain list (e.g., .top .xyz .monster; newly observed domains/NOD). |
AllowedCDNs | Corporate CDNs/update hosts to reduce false positives. |
KEV CVEs whose mapped technique this analytic detects
| CVE | Vendor / product | State |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2012-0767 | Adobe Flash Player | Mapped |
| CVE-2015-5119 | Adobe Flash Player | Mapped |
| CVE-2020-3580 | Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) | Mapped |
| CVE-2022-21971 | Microsoft Windows | Mapped |
| CVE-2022-24682 | Synacor Zimbra Collaborate Suite (ZCS) | Mapped |
| CVE-2022-3038 | Google Chromium Network Service | Mapped |
| CVE-2022-3075 | Google Chromium Mojo | Mapped |
| CVE-2023-2136 | Google Chromium Skia | Mapped |
| CVE-2023-5217 | Google Chromium libvpx | Mapped |
| CVE-2023-5631 | Roundcube Webmail | Mapped |
| CVE-2024-38112 | Microsoft Windows | Mapped |