Adversaries may abuse CMSTP to proxy execution of malicious code. The Microsoft Connection Manager Profile Installer (CMSTP.exe) is a command-line program used to install Connection Manager service profiles.^[1] CMSTP.exe accepts an installation information file (INF) as a parameter and installs a service profile leveraged for remote access connections.

Adversaries may supply CMSTP.exe with INF files infected with malicious commands.^[2] Similar to Regsvr32 / ”Squiblydoo”, CMSTP.exe may be abused to load and execute DLLs^[3] and/or COM scriptlets (SCT) from remote servers.^[4],[5],[6] This execution may also bypass AppLocker and other application control defenses since CMSTP.exe is a legitimate binary that may be signed by Microsoft.

CMSTP.exe can also be abused to Bypass User Account Control and execute arbitrary commands from a malicious INF through an auto-elevated COM interface.^[3],[5],[6]

References

1. Microsoft. (2009, October 8). How Connection Manager Works. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
2. Carr, N. (2018, January 31). Here is some early bad cmstp.exe... Retrieved September 12, 2024.
3. Moe, O. (2017, August 15). Research on CMSTP.exe. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
4. Tyrer, N. (2018, January 30). CMSTP.exe - remote .sct execution applocker bypass. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
5. Moe, O. (2018, March 1). Ultimate AppLocker Bypass List. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
6. Seetharaman, N. (2018, July 7). Detecting CMSTP-Enabled Code Execution and UAC Bypass With Sysmon.. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

Susietos užduotys

• MITREATTACK -

  © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. https://attack.mitre.org/

  Terms of Use

  LICENSE

  The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use ATT&CK^® for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

  "© 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation."

  DISCLAIMERS

  MITRE does not claim ATT&CK enumerates all possibilities for the types of actions and behaviors documented as part of its adversary model and framework of techniques. Using the information contained within ATT&CK to address or cover full categories of techniques will not guarantee full defensive coverage as there may be undisclosed techniques or variations on existing techniques not documented by ATT&CK.

  ALL DOCUMENTS AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE MITRE CORPORATION, ITS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES, DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION THEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

  See our FAQ for more information on how to use and represent the ATT&CK name.