Download cradle pattern

powershell_download_cradle

Uses the Net.WebClient download-cradle pattern (Windows) or a curl-into-shell pipeline (macOS/Linux) against a harmless connectivity endpoint. The fetched content is measured, never executed.

Severity medium how bad it would be if it were real
Expected outcome Something should notice
Platforms 3 macOS, Linux, Windows
Isolation subprocess runs in its own process, so a kill is a measurement

What it needs before it will run

  • runs in --safe

    Observation only. It runs even in the inert mode, because it changes nothing and sends nothing.

  • sends traffic

    Generates outbound traffic. --no-network suppresses it entirely.

Gates are cumulative and none of them is implied by another: see the three gates for why they are separate decisions.

ATT&CK techniques it exercises

MITRE ATT&CK techniques this test maps to.
Technique Name Tactic Across public reports
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution coverage statistics
T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer Command and Control coverage statistics

How often anything notices

Not enough data: fewer than 3 public reports have run this test, so no rate is published for it. Groups below that threshold are withheld everywhere on the site — with one or two contributors an average is one organisation's result with a percent sign after it.

Other obfuscation and scripting tests

Other tests in the Obfuscation and scripting category.
Test What it does Severity
AMSI test sample execution amsi_test_string Passes Microsoft's published AMSI test sample string to PowerShell. A working Antimalware Scan Interface provider must refuse the script, so a clean r… medium
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Base64-encoded PowerShell/shell execution powershell_encoded_command Runs a base64-encoded command through powershell -EncodedCommand (Windows) or a base64 pipe into sh (macOS/Linux). The payload only prints a marker an… medium

Catalogue generated from client 0.1.0. A test's behaviour can change between releases; this page describes the version named here.