Techniques › T1218.014 › AN0622
AN0622 Analytic 0622
Windows · attack.mitre.org · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2
<p>Abuse of mmc.exe to execute non-Microsoft or user-staged .msc files and malicious COM CLSIDs. Behavioral chain: (1) suspicious mmc.exe invocation with /a or -Embedding and non-standard .msc path → (2) COM activation of non-baseline CLSIDs by mmc.exe → (3) mmc.exe loads non-baseline DLLs (user-writable/UNC/unsigned) → (4) optional network/DNS activity from mmc.exe.</p>
- Detects
- T1218.014 MMC
- Part of
- DET0222 Detecting MMC (.msc) Proxy Execution and Malicious COM Activation
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:Sysmon | EventCode=1 | DC0032 Process Creation |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=7 | DC0016 Module Load |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=11 | DC0039 File Creation |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=12 | DC0056 Windows Registry Key Creation |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=13, 14 | DC0063 Windows Registry Key Modification |
| WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-COM/Operational | CLSID activation events where ProcessName=mmc.exe and CLSID not in allowed baseline | DC0021 OS API Execution |
| WinEventLog:Sysmon | EventCode=3, 22 | DC0082 Network Connection Creation |
| WinEventLog:PowerShell | EventCode=4103, 4104, 4105, 4106 | DC0064 Command Execution |
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., 5–10 minutes) tying .msc creation → mmc.exe start → module loads → COM/net activity. |
AllowedMSCList | Set of Microsoft-supplied .msc names/paths allowed in the environment to suppress noise. |
SuspiciousMSCPathRegex | Regex for user-writable and network paths indicating risky .msc staging (Users, AppData, Downloads, Desktop, UNC). |
AllowedCLSIDs | Baseline of CLSIDs expected to be activated by mmc.exe; alert on unknown/new. |
ParentProcessAllowList | Expected parents for mmc.exe (explorer.exe, services) vs. unusual (powershell, wscript, office apps). |
SignedToUnsignedTransition | Flag when signed mmc.exe results in loading unsigned DLLs. |
ExternalIPAllowlist | Approved external ranges/domains to exclude when mmc.exe makes network requests. |