New Abuse of the ClickOnce Technology, Part 1: The Inner Workings of ClickOnce Application Deployment

ClickOnce technology, a deployment mechanism by Microsoft, simplifies the distribution and installation of applications by allowing users to install and automatically update software with minimal interaction and without requiring administrative privileges. However, its ease of use also makes it susceptible to exploitation by threat actors for spreading malware. This two-part series explores the inner workings of ClickOnce, detailing its deployment process and potential security implications. Part 1 examines the technical aspects of how ClickOnce applications are packaged and published, highlighting several deployment scenarios involving browsers and local files. It also delves into the internals of the deployment process, including the roles of various Windows components such as dfshim.dll and dfsvc.exe. The series aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of ClickOnce and its potential vulnerabilities, with Part 2 focusing on known and newly discovered methods of abuse, as well as strategies for detection and prevention, demonstrated through the capabilities of the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform.

No tracked trend matches for this post yet.

Use this post, company, and trend context to find content marketing opportunities, perform competitive analysis, or address product feature gaps via the Plushcap MCP server or the Plushcap API.