Anydesk Client Exploit May 2026

condition: ( $anydesk_exe or $anon_connect or $untrusted_cert ) and ( $cmd_exec or $shellcode_1 or $network_connect or $reg_persistence ) title: Suspicious AnyDesk Client Activity id: 1a2b3c4d-5e6f-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 status: experimental description: Detects potential exploitation of AnyDesk client (e.g., CVE-2020-13160) through unusual child processes or command-line arguments. references: - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13160 - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1219/ logsource: category: process_creation product: windows service: sysmon detection: selection_anydesk: Image|endswith: '\AnyDesk.exe' selection_susp_args: CommandLine|contains: - '--silent' - '--install' - '--start-with-win' - '--service' selection_network: EventID: 3 # Network connection Image|endswith: '\AnyDesk.exe' DestinationPort: - 80 - 443 - 7070 # Default AnyDesk port - 6568 # Alternative selection_parent: ParentImage|endswith: - '\winword.exe' - '\excel.exe' - '\outlook.exe' - '\powershell.exe' - '\cmd.exe' - '\mshta.exe' - '\wscript.exe' condition: (selection_anydesk and selection_susp_args) or (selection_network and selection_parent) falsepositives: - Legitimate silent installation via deployment tools - Administrative use of AnyDesk level: high 🧠 Behavioral Indicators (EDR/SIEM) | Technique | Indicator | |-----------|------------| | Persistence | AnyDesk installed with --silent --install --service | | Lateral movement | AnyDesk.exe spawned by Office apps / script host | | Defense evasion | Certificate validation bypass → self-signed certs | | Remote access | Outbound connections on port 7070/6568 with command-line auth override ( --auth-token ) | ✅ Recommended Hunting Query (KQL example) DeviceProcessEvents | where FileName =~ "AnyDesk.exe" | where ProcessCommandLine has_any ("--silent", "--install", "--service", "--start-with-win") or InitiatingProcessFileName in~ ("winword.exe", "excel.exe", "powershell.exe", "cmd.exe", "mshta.exe") | project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, ProcessCommandLine, InitiatingProcessFileName

Here’s a and a Sigma rule (for log/sysmon detection) to detect potential exploitation of Anydesk client vulnerabilities (e.g., CVE-2020-13160, improper certificate validation, or RCE attempts). 🔍 YARA Rule – Detect Suspicious Anydesk Payloads rule AnyDesk_Client_Exploit_Indicators meta: description = "Detects known indicators of AnyDesk client exploitation" author = "Threat Intelligence" date = "2024-03-15" reference = "CVE-2020-13160, T1219" severity = "high" strings: $anydesk_exe = "AnyDesk.exe" nocase $anon_connect = "anonymous_connect" fullword $cmd_exec = "CreateProcess" fullword $shellcode_1 = 31 C0 50 68 ?? ?? ?? ?? 68 2E 65 78 65 // typical shellcode pattern $network_connect = "WinHttpOpen" fullword $untrusted_cert = "certificate validation failed" fullword $reg_persistence = "Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run" fullword anydesk client exploit