Potential Download and Execute Command via PowerShell or Curl

Ankit Mehta@Secvyn

•updated Jun 17, 2026•0•0•5

This rule detects command-line executions that involve downloading content from the internet and immediately executing it. It specifically looks for `SecurityEvent` with `EventID 4688` (process creation) where the `CommandLine` contains keywords associated with web client operations (`IEX(New-Object Net.WebClient)`, `DownloadString`, `DownloadFile`, `Invoke-WebRequest`, `curl.exe`) and also contains terms indicating a download and execute intent (`http`, `payload`, `execute`). This pattern is commonly used by adversaries for initial access, execution, and persistence.