CyberStack

MITRE ATT&CK / Techniques / T1218.007

System Binary Proxy Execution: Msiexec

ID
T1218.007
Tactics
TA0005 Stealth
Sub-technique of
T1218 System Binary Proxy Execution
Platforms
Windows
Data sources
Process Creation, Module Load, Network Connection Creation
Source
attack.mitre.org
MITRE last modified
12 May 2026

Adversaries may abuse msiexec.exe to proxy execution of malicious payloads. Msiexec.exe is the command-line utility for the Windows Installer and is thus commonly associated with executing installation packages (.msi).[2] The Msiexec.exe binary may also be digitally signed by Microsoft.

Adversaries may abuse msiexec.exe to launch local or network accessible MSI files. Msiexec.exe can also execute DLLs.[3][4] Since it may be signed and native on Windows systems, msiexec.exe can be used to bypass application control solutions that do not account for its potential abuse. Msiexec.exe execution may also be elevated to SYSTEM privileges if the AlwaysInstallElevated policy is enabled.[1]

Detection

Mitigations (2)

M1026 Privileged Account Management

Restrict execution of Msiexec.exe to privileged accounts or groups that need to use it to lessen the opportunities for malicious usage.

M1042 Disable or Remove Feature or Program

Consider disabling the AlwaysInstallElevated policy to prevent elevated execution of Windows Installer packages.[1]

Groups (6)

Software (23)

References

  1. Microsoft AlwaysInstallElevated 2018
  2. Microsoft msiexec
  3. LOLBAS Msiexec
  4. TrendMicro Msiexec Feb 2018