Coverage › CVE-2022-21971
CVE-2022-21971 Mapped Sigma
Microsoft Windows Runtime Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Vendor / product
- Microsoft — Windows
- Description (CISA)
- Microsoft Windows Runtime contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for remote code execution.
- Added to KEV
- 2022-08-18
- Due date
- 2022-09-08
- Required action
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Known ransomware use
- Unknown
- CWE
- CWE-824
- CISA notes
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-21971
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-21971 - Elsewhere
- cve.org · NVD · CISA KEV · JSON
ATT&CK techniques · CTID Mappings Explorer, ATT&CK 16.1, KEV snapshot 2025-07-28
2 mapping objects across 2 techniques. exploitation technique states how the vulnerability is exploited; primary and secondary impact state what exploitation achieves. They are different claims and are labelled as such.
| Technique | Mapping type | CTID comment | Status in v19.2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1204.001 Malicious Link | exploitation technique | This vulnerability is exploited when an authenticated user is convinced by an attacker to download and open a specially crafted file from a website, which grants the attacker access to the victim's computer. No articles have been released to the public showing that this vulnerability has been executed in the wild or provides any information on how an exploitation is carried out. ref 1 · ref 2 |
live |
| T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter | primary impact | This vulnerability is exploited when an authenticated user is convinced by an attacker to download and open a specially crafted file from a website, which grants the attacker access to the victim's computer. No articles have been released to the public showing that this vulnerability has been executed in the wild or provides any information on how an exploitation is carried out. ref 1 · ref 2 |
live |
Detection chain · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2 detection strategies, analytics, log sources
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter primary impact
- DET0516 Behavioral Detection of Command and Scripting Interpreter Abuse
AN1428 WindowsDetects the execution of scripting or command interpreters (e.g., powershell.exe, cmd.exe, wscript.exe) outside expected administrative time windows or from abnormal user contexts, often followed by encoded/obfuscated arguments or secondary execution events.Tunable:
CommandLinePatternParentProcessNameTimeWindowAN1429 LinuxDetects use of shell interpreters (e.g., bash, sh, python, perl) initiated by users or processes not normally executing them, especially when chaining suspicious utilities like netcat, curl, or ssh.Tunable:InterpreterNameUserContextExecutionChainLengthAN1430 macOSDetects launch of command-line interpreters via Terminal, Automator, or hiddenosascript, especially when parent process lineage deviates from user-initiated applications.macos:unifiedloglog stream --info --predicate 'eventMessage CONTAINS "exec"'→ DC0032 Process CreationTunable:LaunchAgentNameScriptNameTerminalAppUsageAN1431 ESXiDetects use of 'esxcli system' or direct interpreter commands (e.g., busybox shell) invoked from SSH or host terminal unexpectedly.Tunable:ShellEnabledFlagSSHContextAN1432 Network DevicesIdentifies CLI interpreter access (e.g., Cisco IOS, Juniper JUNOS) viaenablemode or scripting-capable sessions used by uncommon accounts or from unknown IPs.Tunable:UserRoleDeviceType
Sigma rules tagged attack.t1059 (95)
Author: Sohan G (D4rkCiph3r)
· 2023-04-05 · logsource: product=macos category=process_creation · 0250638a-2b28-4541-86fc-ea4c558fa0c6
Detects suspicious child processes spawned from browsers. This could be a result of a potential web browser exploitation.
Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
· 2023-04-17 · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 05ebafc8-7aa2-4bcd-a269-2aec93f9e842
Detects usage of winget to add new additional download sources
Author: Victor Sergeev, oscd.community
· 2020-10-09 (modified 2024-04-23) · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 06b401f4-107c-4ff9-947f-9ec1e7649f1e
Detects execution of "ftp.exe" script with the "-s" or "/s" flag and any child processes ran by "ftp.exe".
Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), E.M. Anhaus (originally from Atomic Blue Detections, Endgame), oscd.community
· 2022-06-14 (modified 2023-01-04) · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 0955e4e1-c281-4fb9-9ee1-5ee7b4b754d2
Detects execition of commands and binaries from the context of The program compatibility assistant (Pcalua.exe). This can be used as a LOLBIN in order to bypass application whitelisting.
Author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
· 2025-11-25 · logsource: product=linux category=process_creation · 11bb9b26-4179-4a06-afcb-1ec31fce1627
Detects potential Shai-Hulud malware indicators based on specific command line arguments associated with its execution.
Author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
· 2022-02-08 (modified 2026-02-17) · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 1228c958-e64e-4e71-92ad-7d429f4138ba
Detects suspicious script execution from suspicious directories or folders accessible by environment variables that may indicate malware activity.
Script interpreters (cscript, wscript, mshta, powershell) executing from folders like Temp, Public, or user profile directories may suggest attempts to evade detection or execute malicious scripts.
Author: Josh Nickels, Marius Rothenbücher
· 2024-09-06 · logsource: product=windows category=dns_query · 12310575-e8b1-475c-a976-57ed540b349c
Detects unusual domain resolutions originating from CScript/WScript that can identify malicious javascript files executing in an environment, often as a result from a phishing or watering hole attack.
Author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
· 2021-11-20 (modified 2023-03-29) · logsource: product=windows category=file_event · 1277f594-a7d1-4f28-a2d3-73af5cbeab43
Detects Windows shells and scripting applications that write files to suspicious folders
Author: frack113, Tim Shelton (update fp)
· 2022-12-05 (modified 2025-03-06) · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 178e615d-e666-498b-9630-9ed363038101
Detects when a shell program such as the Windows command prompt or PowerShell is launched with system privileges from a uncommon parent location.
Author: Micah Babinski
· 2023-10-15 · logsource: product=windows category=file_event · 1a433e1d-03d2-47a6-8063-ece992cf4e73
Detects the usage of curl.exe, KeyScramblerLogon, or other non-standard/suspicious processes used to create Autoit3.exe.
This activity has been associated with DarkGate malware, which uses Autoit3.exe to execute shellcode that performs
process injection and connects to the DarkGate command-and-control server. Curl, KeyScramblerLogon, and these other
processes consitute non-standard and suspicious ways to retrieve the Autoit3 executable.
Author: Andreas Braathen (mnemonic.io)
· 2023-11-14 · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 1ddaa9a4-eb0b-4398-a9fe-7b018f9e23db
Detects exploitation attempt of CVE-2023-22518 (Confluence Data Center / Confluence Server), where an attacker can exploit vulnerable endpoints to e.g. create admin accounts and execute arbitrary commands.
Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
· 2023-01-02 · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 20a5ffa1-3848-4584-b6f8-c7c7fd9f69c8
Detects execution of ruby using the "-e" flag. This is could be used as a way to launch a reverse shell or execute live ruby code.
Author: Tim Rauch (rule), Elastic (idea)
· 2022-10-17 · logsource: product=macos category=process_creation · 234dc5df-40b5-49d1-bf53-0d44ce778eca
Detects when a built-in utility is used to decode and decrypt a payload after a macOS disk image (DMG) is executed. Malware authors may attempt to evade detection and trick users into executing malicious code by encoding and encrypting their payload and placing it in a disk image file. This behavior is consistent with adware or malware families such as Bundlore and Shlayer.
Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
· 2023-06-14 · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 236d8e89-ed95-4789-a982-36f4643738ba
Detects execution of the "VMwareToolBoxCmd.exe" with the "script" and "set" flag to setup a specific script that's located in a potentially suspicious location to run for a specific VM state
Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), X__Junior (Nextron Systems)
· 2024-01-11 · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 2433a154-bb3d-42e4-86c3-a26bdac91c45
Detects the execution of a renamed "PingCastle" binary based on the PE metadata fields.
All 95 rules on the technique page →
T1204.001 Malicious Link exploitation technique
- DET0066 User Execution – Malicious Link (click → suspicious egress → download/write → follow-on activity)
AN0178 WindowsBehavioral 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.NSM:Flow
Suspicious URL patterns, uncommon TLDs, short-lived domains, URL shorteners; HTTP method GET/POST→ DC0085 Network Traffic ContentTunable:TimeWindowBrowserParentsUserPathsSuspiciousTLDsAllowedCDNsAN0179 LinuxBehavioral chain: (1) browser/office/GUI mail client opens a URL, (2) outbound connection to untrusted domain, (3) a new file is saved in $HOME/Downloads, /tmp, or cache immediately after.auditd:SYSCALLexecve: Execs of chromium, google-chrome, firefox, libreoffice with http(s) in cmdline→ DC0082 Network Connection Creationauditd:SYSCALLopen,creat,rename: Writes in $HOME/Downloads, /tmp, ~/.cache with exe/script/archive/office extensions→ DC0039 File CreationTunable:TimeWindowUserPathsHighRiskExtensionsDomainRiskScoreAN0180 macOSBehavioral chain: (1) Safari/Chrome/Firefox/Office handles a URL; unified logs show open/click or LSQuarantine assignment, (2) outbound connection to untrusted domain, (3) a new file appears in ~/Downloads or /private/var/folders/* with quarantine flag.NSM:ConnectionsNew outbound connection from Safari/Chrome/Firefox/Word→ DC0082 Network Connection Creationfs:fseventsCreate in /Users/*/Downloads or /private/var/folders/* with quarantine attribute→ DC0039 File CreationTunable:TimeWindowQuarantinePolicySuspiciousTLDs
Sigma rules tagged attack.t1204.001 (4)
Author: Tim Rauch (rule), Elastic (idea)
· 2022-10-21 (modified 2022-12-28) · logsource: product=macos category=process_creation · 6e4dcdd1-e48b-42f7-b2d8-3b413fc58cb4
Detects when the macOS Script Editor utility spawns an unusual child process.
Author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
· 2019-04-05 (modified 2021-11-27) · logsource: product=linux · c67fc22a-0be5-4b4f-aad5-2b32c4b69523
Detects suspicious command lines that look as if they would create symbolic links to /etc/passwd
Author: montysecurity, Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
· 2025-11-19 · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · d487ed4a-fd24-436d-a0b2-f4e95f7b2635
Detects suspicious execution patterns where users are tricked into running malicious commands via clipboard manipulation, either through the Windows Run dialog (ClickFix) or File Explorer address bar (FileFix).
Attackers leverage social engineering campaigns—such as fake CAPTCHA challenges or urgent alerts—encouraging victims to paste clipboard contents, often executing mshta.exe, powershell.exe, or similar commands to infect systems.
Author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
· 2025-03-25 (modified 2025-11-19) · logsource: product=windows category=registry_set · f5fe36cf-f1ec-4c23-903d-09a3110f6bbb
Detects potential ClickFix malware execution patterns by monitoring registry modifications in RunMRU keys containing HTTP/HTTPS links.
ClickFix is known to be distributed through phishing campaigns and uses techniques like clipboard hijacking and fake CAPTCHA pages.
Through the fakecaptcha pages, the adversary tricks users into opening the Run dialog box and pasting clipboard-hijacked content,
such as one-liners that execute remotely hosted malicious files or scripts.