Detect CVE-2026-1281 — Ivanti EPMM Code Injection Exploitation in Google Chronicle
Detects exploitation of CVE-2026-1281, a code injection vulnerability (CWE-94) in Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM). This KEV-listed vulnerability allows remote attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code via the EPMM management interface. Detection focuses on anomalous process execution, suspicious web shell activity, and unexpected outbound connections from EPMM server infrastructure.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Initial Access Execution Persistence
YARA-L Detection Query
rule cve_2026_1281_epmm_code_injection {
meta:
author = "df00tech Detection Engineering"
description = "Detects CVE-2026-1281 Ivanti EPMM code injection exploitation via suspicious child process spawning"
severity = "CRITICAL"
priority = "HIGH"
reference = "https://forums.ivanti.com/s/article/Security-Advisory-Ivanti-Endpoint-Manager-Mobile-EPMM-CVE-2026-1281-CVE-2026-1340"
events:
$proc.metadata.event_type = "PROCESS_LAUNCH"
$proc.principal.process.file.full_path = /(?i)(java|tomcat|mi-dm|mics|openapi-generator)/
$proc.target.process.file.full_path = /(?i)(bash|sh|curl|wget|python3?|perl|nc|ncat|cmd\.exe|powershell\.exe)/
condition:
$proc
}Chronicle YARA-L rule detecting EPMM-related processes spawning shells or network utilities, aligned to CVE-2026-1281 code injection patterns.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- EPMM diagnostic utilities legitimately invoked by the service daemon
- IT automation pipelines executing via the EPMM service account context
- Health monitoring agents that run Python or shell commands under the Java process
Other platforms for CVE-2026-1281
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Simulate EPMM Code Injection via Curl to Local Test Endpoint
Expected signal: Network logs showing POST request to EPMM endpoint; if exploitable, process execution logs for id/whoami/uname commands spawned by Java process.
- Test 2Emulate Post-Exploitation Child Process Spawn from Java Parent
Expected signal: Process creation events showing bash/sh spawned from a process named java_epmm_sim; command line includes id, whoami, hostname.
- Test 3Simulate Web Shell Drop and Execution via EPMM Webapps Directory
Expected signal: File creation event in Tomcat webapps directory for a .jsp file; auditd SYSCALL write/open record pointing to webapps path.
- Test 4Simulate Outbound C2 Beacon from EPMM Server Context
Expected signal: Network connection event from EPMM host to external IP on port 4444; process initiating the connection is curl with parent process in EPMM service context.
References (4)
- https://forums.ivanti.com/s/article/Security-Advisory-Ivanti-Endpoint-Manager-Mobile-EPMM-CVE-2026-1281-CVE-2026-1340
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-1281
- https://support.mobileiron.com/mi/vsp/AB1771634/ivanti-security-update-1761642-1.0.0S-5.noarch.rpm
- https://support.mobileiron.com/mi/vsp/AB1771634/ivanti-security-update-1761642-1.0.0L-5.noarch.rpm
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