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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
Related content
Links established from declared identifiers and solution manifests.
Source provenance
GitHubDisplayed values come from files in Azure/Azure-Sentinel. They describe the published template, not your workspace configuration.
- Commit
9800e51↗- Source identifier
4a9d3c2e-7f1b-4e58-9a0c-2d5b8e3f1a7c
GSTEP / CATALOG TRACKING
Added to catalog : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC
Last change observed : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC