Devcon Execution Disabling VMware VMCI Device
Detects execution of devcon.exe with commands that disable the VMware Virtual Machine Communication Interface (VMCI) device. This can be legitimate during VMware Tools troubleshooting or driver conflicts, but may…
Description
Detects execution of devcon.exe with commands that disable the VMware Virtual Machine Communication Interface (VMCI) device. This can be legitimate during VMware Tools troubleshooting or driver conflicts, but may also indicate malware attempting to hijack communication with the hardware via the VMCI device. This has been used to facilitate VMware ESXi vulnerability exploits to escape VMs and execute code on the ESXi host.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ContainersESXiIaaSLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source product
- windows
- Log source category
- process_creation
Known benign triggers
- Automated scripts in virtualized environments for device cleanup.
- Legitimate VMware administration, Tools installation/uninstallation, or troubleshooting driver conflicts.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Workstation-Pro/VMCI-driver-issues/td-p/2866060 | Only this detection cites it |
| github.com/search?q=devcon+disable+VMWVMCIHOSTDEV | Only this detection cites it |
| huntress.com/blog/esxi-vm-escape-exploit | 2 |
| learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/devcon | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 85f520e7-6f5e-43ca-874c-222e5bf9c0de
- Tagged by the source as
- attack.defense-impairmentattack.persistenceattack.privilege-escalation
Licence
- Published under
- Detection Rule License 1.1Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026
- Version
- 1