wuauclt.exe

  • File Path: C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe
  • Description: Windows Update

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 A9C97125C0114959C493706B43C3DC8C
SHA1 9F02F926440E40F49A342EC4535F65BF422555ED
SHA256 CC855323B6AB7259C92BD1310211DD95174E43BE2F46C828E38F0060DD2E4488
SHA384 781CDC21628D2D9122352374AD52BEF0535D3EA22EA59E37490A9E3DA60C39A0DA2F71163261FD3E76FA389766AF8DF9
SHA512 DA7A8004A3D5F643288CC19C0F8A14D4307E697FFA0D4034A392D75791714484D7EDA06B7165117B6E18DF6024CAF4CC0320B2774D744666148CFF2E94C51F6F
SSDEEP 768:ah2S//Mvy1sxCf1eQAqTE0OVJzOH/K4FVQcqj5fCuKAEXOaEnw1BulMWZqy4Z95h:6//Skra/ylerKD7gYlBRdV9pP

Runtime Data

Loaded Modules:

Path
C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe

Signature

  • Status: Signature verified.
  • Serial: 3300000266BD1580EFA75CD6D3000000000266
  • Thumbprint: A4341B9FD50FB9964283220A36A1EF6F6FAA7840
  • Issuer: CN=Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US
  • Subject: CN=Microsoft Windows, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US

File Metadata

  • Original Filename: wuauclt.exe
  • Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System
  • Company Name: Microsoft Corporation
  • File Version: 10.0.17763.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
  • Product Version: 10.0.17763.1
  • Language: Language Neutral
  • Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

File Similarity (ssdeep match)

File Score
C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe 93

Possible Misuse

The following table contains possible examples of wuauclt.exe being misused. While wuauclt.exe is not inherently malicious, its legitimate functionality can be abused for malicious purposes.

Source Source File Example License
sigma net_connection_win_wuauclt_network_connection.yml title: Wuauclt Network Connection DRL 1.0
sigma net_connection_win_wuauclt_network_connection.yml description: Detects the use of the Windows Update Client binary (wuauclt.exe) to proxy execute code and making a network connections. One could easily make the DLL spawn a new process and inject to it to proxy the network connection and bypass this rule. DRL 1.0
sigma net_connection_win_wuauclt_network_connection.yml - https://dtm.uk/wuauclt/ DRL 1.0
sigma net_connection_win_wuauclt_network_connection.yml Image\|contains: wuauclt DRL 1.0
sigma net_connection_win_wuauclt_network_connection.yml - Legitimate use of wuauclt.exe over the network. DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_lolbas_execution_of_wuauclt.yml title: Monitoring Wuauclt.exe For Lolbas Execution Of DLL DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_lolbas_execution_of_wuauclt.yml description: Adversaries can abuse wuauclt.exe (Windows Update client) to run code execution by specifying an arbitrary DLL. DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_lolbas_execution_of_wuauclt.yml - https://dtm.uk/wuauclt/ DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_lolbas_execution_of_wuauclt.yml CommandLine\|re: '(?i)wuauclt\.exe.*\/UpdateDeploymentProvider.*\/Runhandlercomserver' DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_proxy_execution_wuauclt.yml title: Proxy Execution via Wuauclt DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_proxy_execution_wuauclt.yml description: Detects the use of the Windows Update Client binary (wuauclt.exe) to proxy execute code. DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_proxy_execution_wuauclt.yml - https://dtm.uk/wuauclt/ DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_proxy_execution_wuauclt.yml - Image\|contains: wuauclt DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_proxy_execution_wuauclt.yml - OriginalFileName: wuauclt.exe DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_spoolsv_child_processes.yml - \wuauclt.exe DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_wuauclt.yml description: Detects code execution via the Windows Update client (wuauclt) DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_wuauclt.yml - https://dtm.uk/wuauclt/ DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_wuauclt.yml - '\wuauclt.exe' DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_wuauclt_cmdline.yml description: Detects suspicious Windows Update Agent activity in which a wuauclt.exe process command line doesn't contain any command line flags DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_wuauclt_cmdline.yml Image\|endswith: '\Wuauclt.exe' DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_wuauclt_cmdline.yml CommandLine\|endswith: '\Wuauclt.exe' DRL 1.0
sigma registry_event_persistence_search_order.yml - C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe DRL 1.0
LOLBAS Wuauclt.yml Name: wuauclt.exe  
LOLBAS Wuauclt.yml - Command: wuauclt.exe /UpdateDeploymentProvider Full_Path_To_DLL /RunHandlerComServer  
LOLBAS Wuauclt.yml - Path: C:\Windows\System32\wuauclt.exe  
LOLBAS Wuauclt.yml - IOC: wuauclt run with a parameter of a DLL path  
LOLBAS Wuauclt.yml - IOC: Suspicious wuauclt Internet/network connections  
LOLBAS Wuauclt.yml - Link: https://dtm.uk/wuauclt/  
signature-base apt_putterpanda.yar $x0 = “WUAUCLT.EXE” fullword wide /* PEStudio Blacklist: strings / / score: ‘20.01’ */ CC BY-NC 4.0

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