A third-party utility was copied to a different location

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by Alert name

Product
Cortex XDR
Last date published
2025-10-27
Category
Analytics Alert Reference
Index by
Alert name

Synopsis

Activation Period

14 Days

Training Period

30 Days

Test Period

N/A (single event)

Deduplication Period

1 Day

Required Data

  • Requires:
    • XDR Agent

Detection Modules

Detector Tags

EDR Windows Disguised Processes

ATT&CK Tactic

Defense Evasion (TA0005)

ATT&CK Technique

Masquerading: Rename Legitimate Utilities (T1036.003)

Severity

Informational

Description

To evade detection, attackers may copy a third-party utility executable to a different location.

Attacker's Goals

Detection avoidance via file rename.

Investigative actions

  • Check whether the executing process is benign, and if this was a desired behavior as part of its normal execution flow.
  • Check the destination path of the third-party utility and try to see if it's benign.