Microsoft Office process spawns conhost.exe

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	XDR Agent
ATT&CK Tactic	Execution (TA0002), Initial Access (TA0001)
ATT&CK Technique	User Execution: Malicious File (T1204.002), Phishing (T1566)
Severity	Low

Description

This unusual parent-child relationship may indicate that a Microsoft Office application executed a console-based application.

Attacker's Goals

An attacker attempts to gain code execution via an Office application or via an Office document.

Investigative actions

• Check the source of the file or email (received by mail or loaded locally).
• Investigate the child processes for malicious activity and network connections to an external host.