OpenEDR Spawning Command Shell

Detects the OpenEDR ssh-shellhost.exe spawning a command shell (cmd.exe) or PowerShell with PTY (pseudo-terminal) capabilities. This may indicate remote command execution through OpenEDR's remote management features, which could be legitimate administrative activity or potential abuse of the remote access tool. Threat actors may leverage OpenEDR's remote shell capabilities to execute commands on compromised systems, facilitating lateral movement or other command-and-control operations.

title: OpenEDR Spawning Command Shell
id: 7f3a9c2d-4e8b-4a7f-9d3e-5c6f8a9b2e1d
status: experimental
description: |
    Detects the OpenEDR ssh-shellhost.exe spawning a command shell (cmd.exe) or PowerShell with PTY (pseudo-terminal) capabilities.
    This may indicate remote command execution through OpenEDR's remote management features, which could be legitimate administrative activity or potential abuse of the remote access tool.
    Threat actors may leverage OpenEDR's remote shell capabilities to execute commands on compromised systems, facilitating lateral movement or other command-and-control operations.
author: '@kostastsale'
date: 2026-02-19
references:
    - https://kostas-ts.medium.com/detecting-abuse-of-openedrs-permissive-edr-trial-a-security-researcher-s-perspective-fc55bf53972c
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.t1059.003
    - attack.lateral-movement
    - attack.t1021.004
    - attack.command-and-control
    - attack.t1219
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: process_creation
detection:
    selection_img:
        ParentImage|endswith: '\ITSMService.exe'
        Image|endswith: '\ssh-shellhost.exe'
        CommandLine|contains: '--pty'
    selection_cli_shell:
        CommandLine|contains:
            - 'bash'
            - 'cmd'
            - 'powershell'
            - 'pwsh'
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of OpenEDR for remote command execution
level: medium

• T1021.004SSH
• T1059.003Windows Command Shell
• T1219Remote Access Tools

• https://kostas-ts.medium.com/detecting-abuse-of-openedrs-permissive-edr-trial-a-security-researcher-s-perspective-fc55bf53972c↗