No Cert? No Problem – ClickOnce (Ab)Use for Trusted Code Execution

Initial access payloads have historically had limited methods that work seamlessly in phishing campaigns and can maintain a level of evasion. This payload category has been dominated by Microsoft Office types, but as recent news has shown, the lifespan of even this technique is shortening. A vehicle for payload delivery that has been greatly overlooked for initial access is ClickOnce. ClickOnce is very versatile and has a lot of opportunities for maintaining a level of evasion and obfuscation.