T1203

Exploitation for Client Execution

Execution Last updated:

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code. This includes browser-based exploitation via drive-by compromise or spearphishing links, Office application exploitation through malicious attachments (CVE-2017-11882, CVE-2017-0262, CVE-2021-40444), and third-party application exploitation (Adobe Reader, Flash). These exploits cause vulnerable client software to execute attacker-controlled code, often spawning unexpected child processes or injecting shellcode into memory.

What is T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution?

Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203) maps to the Execution tactic — the adversary is trying to run malicious code in MITRE ATT&CK.

This page provides production-ready detection logic for Exploitation for Client Execution, covering the data sources and telemetry it touches: Process: Process Creation, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Command: Command Execution. The queries below are rated critical severity at high confidence, and ship for 7 SIEM platforms — KQL, SPL, Elastic, QRadar, Sumo, YARA-L, LogScale.

MITRE ATT&CK

Tactic
Execution
Technique
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution
Canonical reference
https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1203/
Microsoft Sentinel / Defender
kusto
let OfficeApps = dynamic(["winword.exe", "excel.exe", "powerpnt.exe", "outlook.exe", "mspub.exe", "visio.exe", "onenote.exe", "msaccess.exe"]);
let BrowserApps = dynamic(["chrome.exe", "firefox.exe", "msedge.exe", "iexplore.exe", "opera.exe", "brave.exe"]);
let PDFApps = dynamic(["acrord32.exe", "acrobat.exe", "foxit reader.exe", "foxitpdfeditor.exe", "sumatrapdf.exe"]);
let SuspiciousChildren = dynamic([
  "cmd.exe", "powershell.exe", "pwsh.exe", "wscript.exe", "cscript.exe",
  "mshta.exe", "rundll32.exe", "regsvr32.exe", "certutil.exe", "bitsadmin.exe",
  "msbuild.exe", "installutil.exe", "regasm.exe", "regsvcs.exe",
  "schtasks.exe", "at.exe", "wmic.exe", "msiexec.exe"
]);
DeviceProcessEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(24h)
| where InitiatingProcessFileName has_any (OfficeApps)
      or InitiatingProcessFileName has_any (BrowserApps)
      or InitiatingProcessFileName has_any (PDFApps)
| where FileName has_any (SuspiciousChildren)
| extend ExploitVector = case(
    InitiatingProcessFileName has_any (OfficeApps), "Office Application",
    InitiatingProcessFileName has_any (BrowserApps), "Browser",
    InitiatingProcessFileName has_any (PDFApps), "PDF Reader",
    "Other"
  )
| extend HighRisk = FileName in~ ("powershell.exe", "pwsh.exe", "mshta.exe", "regsvr32.exe", "rundll32.exe", "wscript.exe", "cscript.exe")
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, ExploitVector,
         InitiatingProcessFileName, InitiatingProcessCommandLine,
         FileName, ProcessCommandLine, FolderPath, HighRisk,
         InitiatingProcessParentFileName
| sort by Timestamp desc

Detects client application exploitation by identifying suspicious child process spawning from Office applications, browsers, and PDF readers. Monitors for exploitation payloads including CVE-2017-11882 (Equation Editor), CVE-2021-40444 (MSHTML), and browser exploit chains that spawn cmd.exe, PowerShell, LOLBins, or scripting engines. Flags high-risk child processes for prioritization.

critical severity high confidence

Data Sources

Process: Process Creation Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Command: Command Execution

Required Tables

DeviceProcessEvents

False Positives

  • Office macros legitimately launching PowerShell or cmd.exe for automation tasks (SCCM, IT scripts embedded in documents)
  • Browser helper objects or extensions that spawn child processes for download handling or media playback
  • PDF readers launching external viewers or handlers for embedded attachments (e.g., opening an Excel file embedded in a PDF)
  • Equation Editor (eqnedt32.exe) being spawned during legitimate document rendering on older Office versions
  • Developer tools or IDE integrations within browsers that spawn terminal processes

Sigma rule & cross-platform mapping

The detection logic for Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203) above is provided in a vendor-neutral form so you can deploy it on any SIEM. The same logic is shipped here as native KQL (Microsoft Sentinel / Defender), SPL (Splunk), Elastic (Elastic Security (EQL)), QRadar (IBM QRadar (AQL)), Sumo (Sumo Logic CSE), YARA-L (Google Chronicle / SecOps), LogScale (CrowdStrike LogScale (CQL)) queries. In Sigma terms, this detection targets the following logsource:

logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows

Browse the community-maintained Sigma rules for this technique:


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.

  1. Test 1Simulate Office Exploitation — Equation Editor Child Process

    Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with ParentImage containing eqnedt32.exe and Image=cmd.exe. Security Event ID 4688 with similar parent/child relationship if command line auditing enabled.

  2. Test 2Office Application Spawning PowerShell via Macro Simulation

    Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create chain showing cmd.exe spawning powershell.exe. The detection focuses on the child process spawning pattern. PowerShell ScriptBlock Log Event ID 4104 will record the Write-Output command.

  3. Test 3Browser Renderer Process Spawning Cmd

    Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for cmd.exe with subsequent net.exe and whoami.exe child processes. This represents the reconnaissance commands commonly executed immediately following successful browser exploitation.

  4. Test 4Mshta Spawned from Office Context (CVE-2021-40444 Pattern)

    Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for mshta.exe. In real exploitation this process would have a parent of winword.exe or excel.exe. Security Event ID 4688 will also record the mshta.exe launch with command line arguments.

Unlock Pro Content

Get the full detection package for T1203 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.

Response PlaybookInvestigation GuideHunting QueriesAtomic Red Team TestsTuning Guidance

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