tfMITRE ATT&CK technique

System Script Proxy Execution T1216

Tactic: Stealth
Platform: Windows
Version: 3.0
Created: 18 April 2018
Last modified: 12 May 2026
Contributors: Praetorian; Wes Hurd

Sub-techniques 218 rules across the family · 16 mapped directly to T1216 · 1 of 2 carry rules

.001PubPrn2 .002SyncAppvPublishingServer0

Adversaries may use trusted scripts, often signed with certificates, to proxy the execution of malicious files. Several Microsoft signed scripts that have been downloaded from Microsoft or are default on Windows installations can be used to proxy execution of other files.[1] This behavior may be abused by adversaries to execute malicious files that could bypass application control and signature validation on systems.[2]

ReconResource DevInitial AccessExecutionPersistencePriv EscStealthDef ImpairmentCred AccessDiscoveryLateral MoveCollectionC2ExfiltrationImpact

Threat groupsNone recorded

Threat groupsNone recorded · 29% of ATT&CK techniques have none either.

CampaignsNone recorded

CampaignsNone recorded · 54% of ATT&CK techniques have none either.

Tools & malwareNone recorded

Tools & malwareNone recorded · 29% of ATT&CK techniques have none either.

Detection rulesTop 16%

Detection rules84th percentile · 84% of ATT&CK techniques have this many detection rules written or fewer.

Offense vs defense T1216

Is defensive coverage keeping up with adversary use? Eight counts, each ranked against all 697 ATT&CK techniques. Attack sits left, defense right, so a shape leaning left means adversaries are better documented here than defenders are equipped. Hover any spoke for its percentile and the share of techniques that have more. The timeline below shows when each side arrived.

How it got here

Range

Adversary activity (campaign spans) over cumulative rule output. Each source is plotted independently from zero, so neither line includes the other. Campaign dates are year-granularity.

Campaigns · 0Sigma rules (cumulative) · 15Splunk ESCU (cumulative) · 1

first rule: 2020 Q4

System Script Proxy Execution detection strategy DET0466

MITRE names one behaviour worth catching for this technique and breaks it into 1 analytic, one per platform. Each carries the log sources it needs and the fields you tune per environment.

Detection of Script-Based Proxy Execution via Signed Microsoft Utilities

Enterprise

1 platform

AN1288 · Windows

Execution of Microsoft-signed scripts (e.g., pubprn.vbs, installutil.exe, wscript.exe, cscript.exe) used to proxy execution of untrusted or external binaries. Behavior is detected through command-line process lineage, child process spawning, and unsigned payload execution from signed parent.

Log sources

The data this analytic draws on. You do not need every component — each one you already collect covers part of it. Each links to its ATT&CK record.

Data component	Name	Channel
Module LoadDC0016	WinEventLog:Sysmon	EventCode=7
Process CreationDC0032	WinEventLog:Sysmon	EventCode=1
Process AccessDC0035	WinEventLog:Sysmon	EventCode=10
File CreationDC0039	WinEventLog:Sysmon	EventCode=11
Command ExecutionDC0064	WinEventLog:PowerShell	EventCode=4103, 4104, 4105, 4106

Tunable fields

MITRE calls these the analytic’s mutable elements: the thresholds and filters you set for your own environment.

Field	What you tune
ParentProcessName	Environment-specific paths to script interpreters like wscript.exe, cscript.exe, pubprn.vbs, or installutil.exe.
TimeWindow	Time delta between signed script execution and suspicious child process creation.
ChildCommandLineRegex	Regex pattern used to detect malicious payload execution (e.g., download cradle, PowerShell decode).
SignedToUnsignedTransition	Indicates whether the parent is signed by Microsoft but child is unsigned or unknown.

Tests1Executorscmd 1Need elevation0 of 1Have prerequisites0Have cleanup1Platformswindows

Test

Platform

Executor

Elevation

Prereqs

Cleanup

Ref

manage-bde.wsf Signed Script Command Execution

windows

cmd

—

Yes

Executes the signed manage-bde.wsf script with options to execute an arbitrary command.

Input arguments

Name	Type	Default	Description
command_to_execute	path	%windir%\System32\calc.exe	A command to execute.

Attack command

set comspec=#{command_to_execute}
cscript %windir%\System32\manage-bde.wsf

Cleanup command

set comspec=%windir%\System32\cmd.exe

GUID965cece4-3143-443e-a9cd-c071847042c9

Tests from Atomic Red Team (MIT licence) · technique definition

System Script Proxy Execution detections T1216

16 rules are mapped to this technique. Parent techniques also include their sub-techniques’ rules. Click a slice or key entry to filter the table.

Top 16%of all ATT&CK techniques for number of rules

Product

Severity

Library

Drag headers to reorder | Drag edges to resize

Loading detections...

Select	Title	Description	Category	Status	Event	Product	MITRE ATT&CK	CVEs	Severity	Author	Created	Updated	ID	Refs