Mshta.exe spawns from a browser process

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
Detector Tags	LOLBIN Execution Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Stealth (TA0005)
ATT&CK Technique	System Binary Proxy Execution: Mshta (T1218.005)
Severity	Low

Description

Mshta is the Microsoft HTML Application Host. It executes HTML applications on Windows. Detected when a browser process has spawned mshta, which can be a potential attack vector.

Attacker's Goals

Execute malicious code through system binary proxy execution to bypass application controls and security monitoring.

Investigative actions

• Examine the command line arguments passed to mshta for suspicious URLs or file paths.
• Check the browser process that spawned mshta for signs of compromise.
• Review network connections around the time of execution.
• Analyze any HTML applications (.hta files) that may have been executed.

Variations

Mshta.exe spawns from a browser process that executes a script from a URL

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Stealth (TA0005)
ATT&CK Technique	System Binary Proxy Execution: Mshta (T1218.005)
Severity	Medium

Description

Mshta is the Microsoft HTML Application Host. It executes HTML applications on Windows. Detected when a browser process has spawned mshta, which can be a potential attack vector.

Attacker's Goals

Execute malicious code through system binary proxy execution to bypass application controls and security monitoring.

Investigative actions

• Examine the command line arguments passed to mshta for suspicious URLs or file paths.
• Check the browser process that spawned mshta for signs of compromise.
• Review network connections around the time of execution.
• Analyze any HTML applications (.hta files) that may have been executed.