Bypass Record
AMSI Bypass × Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR
A publicly-reported instance of AMSI Bypass bypassing Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, recorded with its original source. Factual record; no assessment of any specific deployment.
Mechanism
Patches AmsiScanBuffer in clr.dll to zero out the global_pAmsiContext check, preventing AMSI from flagging content as malicious. Also patches NtTraceEvent in ntdll.dll to bypass ETW. Uses direct syscalls to avoid userland hooks and RC4 encryption for payload obfuscation.
Detection & mitigation
Monitor for suspicious modifications to AmsiScanBuffer in clr.dll (e.g., via in-memory patching or hooking) using EDR memory integrity checks or kernel callbacks. Deploy AMSI provider integrity validation and enable Windows Defender Attack Surface Reduction rules to block tampering.
This is a record of a publicly-reported event, not an assessment of any specific organization's deployment. Detection and mitigation notes are drawn from the cited source. Where the source is silent, fields are omitted.