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CertUtil Used for File Download (Living off the Land)

Description

Detects certutil.exe being used to download files from remote URLs via the -urlcache or -verifyctl flags. CertUtil is a signed Windows binary (LOLBin) that attackers abuse to download payloads while bypassing application whitelisting and network controls. Tune AllowlistedDomains to match your PKI/CA infrastructure.
Rule type
Scheduled
Version
1.0.0
Declared status
Available
Query frequency
1h
Query period
1h
Trigger
gt 0

Declared MITRE coverage

Declared sources

Metadata from the source file. No dependencies inferred from KQL.

Connectors

Data types

KQL query

Original query, unchanged.

let Lookback = 1h;
let AllowlistedDomains = dynamic([
  "windowsupdate.microsoft.com",
  "download.microsoft.com",
  "dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com",
  "ctldl.windowsupdate.com"
]);
let MDE_Results =
  DeviceProcessEvents
  | where Timestamp >= ago(Lookback)
  | where FileName =~ "certutil.exe"
  | where ProcessCommandLine has_any ("-urlcache", "-verifyctl", "-decode", "-decodehex")
  | where ProcessCommandLine has_any ("http://", "https://", "ftp://")
  | where not(ProcessCommandLine has_any (AllowlistedDomains))
  | extend
      AccountName   = InitiatingProcessAccountName,
      AccountDomain = InitiatingProcessAccountDomain,
      HostName      = DeviceName,
      EventTime     = Timestamp
  | project EventTime, HostName, AccountName, AccountDomain,
      ProcessCommandLine, InitiatingProcessFileName;
let SecEvent_Results =
  SecurityEvent
  | where TimeGenerated >= ago(Lookback)
  | where EventID == 4688
  | where NewProcessName endswith "\\certutil.exe"
  | where CommandLine has_any ("-urlcache", "-verifyctl", "-decode", "-decodehex")
  | where CommandLine has_any ("http://", "https://", "ftp://")
  | where not(CommandLine has_any (AllowlistedDomains))
  | extend
      AccountName   = SubjectUserName,
      AccountDomain = SubjectDomainName,
      HostName      = Computer,
      EventTime     = TimeGenerated,
      ProcessCommandLine = CommandLine,
      InitiatingProcessFileName = ParentProcessName
  | project EventTime, HostName, AccountName, AccountDomain,
      ProcessCommandLine, InitiatingProcessFileName;
union MDE_Results, SecEvent_Results
| sort by EventTime desc

Declared entities

HostAccountProcess

Related content

Links established from declared identifiers and solution manifests.

Source provenance

GitHub

Displayed values come from files in Azure/Azure-Sentinel. They describe the published template, not your workspace configuration.

Source identifier
4a9d3c2e-7f1b-4e58-9a0c-2d5b8e3f1a7c
Additional source files 2Solutions/Endpoint Threat Protection Essentials/Analytic Rules/Certutil-Download-Abuse.yamlsource ↗Solutions/Endpoint Threat Protection Essentials/Data/Solution_EndpointThreatProtectionEssentials.jsonsolution-membership ↗
GSTEP / CATALOG TRACKING

Added to catalog : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC
Last change observed : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC

GSTEP sync dates, separate from the source content’s publication dates.