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A malware-development writeup detailed how attackers can use the Windows Terminal Services API function WTSEnumerateProcessesA to enumerate running processes and identify a target process ID by name, offering an alternative to more commonly monitored APIs such as CreateToolhelp32Snapshot, Process32First, and Process32Next. The technique relies on iterating through WTS_PROCESS_INFOA entries returned by the API and can require appropriate permissions, including query rights and in some cases privileges such as SeTcbPrivilege.
The same writeup showed how the process-discovery method can be chained into DLL injection, with a target process opened, remote memory allocated, a DLL path written into that memory, and a remote thread created to call LoadLibraryA. The article linked the approach to the Iranian espionage group CopyKittens—tracked by MITRE ATT&CK as G0052—highlighting how the API choice may help malware blend in by avoiding security detections tuned to more familiar process-enumeration methods.
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A blog post published a proof of concept showing how to use WTSEnumerateProcessesA to enumerate processes, find a PID by process name, and extend the technique into DLL injection via CreateRemoteThread and LoadLibraryA. The post demonstrated the injection against mspaint.exe on Windows 10 22H2 x64 and said it successfully triggered a message box.
MITRE ATT&CK published its group page for CopyKittens (G0052), documenting the Iranian cyber-espionage group referenced in the material.
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Security research and malware-development writeups detailed a Windows evasion technique that avoids standard loader APIs such as **`GetProcAddress`** and **`GetModuleHandle`** by manually walking the **Process Environment Block (PEB)** and parsing DLL export tables. The approach resolves modules like **`kernel32.dll`** and **`user32.dll`** at runtime, including from encrypted strings, to reduce obvious API references in binaries and make static or behavioral detection more difficult. Microsoft’s documentation for **`GetProcAddress`** provides the baseline behavior that these custom implementations are designed to replace. One proof of concept showed a custom `GetProcAddress` implementation that located **`MessageBoxA`** dynamically on Windows 10 x64, while another demonstrated finding **`kernel32.dll`** in assembly-style code and resolving exports by hash before allocating memory and launching a benign payload with **`CreateThread`**. The authors framed the method as malware and red-team tradecraft, linked it to **MITRE ATT&CK `T1027`**, and noted similarities to techniques seen in **Conti ransomware** source code, underscoring how manual API resolution can help malicious code lower its detection footprint.
Aug 15, 2026
Security researchers published a proof-of-concept for **remote function stomping**, a Windows process-injection method that overwrites an existing exported API function inside another process and then runs the injected payload with a remote thread. The demonstration used `notepad.exe` as the target and selected `CallMsgFilterA` from `user32.dll`, resolving the function locally before modifying the remote process with `VirtualProtectEx`, writing shellcode through `WriteProcessMemory`, and triggering execution via `CreateRemoteThread`. The write-up said the technique depends on the target DLL already being loaded in the remote process and noted that **ASLR** can affect DLL base addresses across processes. The authors presented the material as educational for malware researchers, red teams, and defenders, but the compiled sample was reportedly flagged as **suspicious** in an ANY.RUN sandbox, underscoring the detection and abuse potential of the method.
Jul 16, 2026
Multiple public research reports detailed how attackers can evade Windows security monitoring by abusing native APIs, loader behavior, and application logging. White Knight Labs and XPN documented techniques to suppress or bypass **Event Tracing for Windows (ETW)** visibility in .NET and Windows processes, while separate research showed that access-mask-based detections can be defeated with `DuplicateHandle` by first requesting only `PROCESS_DUP_HANDLE` and then cloning a more privileged handle to targets such as **LSASS** or **winlogon**. Microsoft documentation for `CreateProcessA` also appeared in the reference set because process creation remains central to many payload chains, including shellcode that ultimately launches command shells or follow-on tooling. Additional reports showed how attackers can blend execution into legitimate Windows behavior and trusted software. iPurple described **EntryPoint Hijacking**, in which a loaded DLL's entry point is overwritten so malicious code runs during normal thread creation or loader activity, reducing obvious injection signals and complicating EDR detection. NVISO separately analyzed Metasploit reverse-shell shellcode that walks the **PEB** and resolves APIs such as `LoadLibraryA`, networking functions, and `CreateProcessA`, while Hunt & Hackett showed that **ConnectWise Control/ScreenConnect** can be used for intrusion activity and that its own event logging can be disabled by patching `ScreenConnect.Core.dll`. Together, the reports underscore that defenders must validate loader integrity, monitor low-visibility handle requests and memory writes, and avoid relying on a single telemetry source such as ETW or application-generated event logs.
Aug 15, 2026