Hijack Execution Flow is a technique in which an attacker redirects a legitimate program to run code they control. Instead of launching a clearly malicious executable, the attacker abuses a trusted process, loader, plugin, configuration file, or startup mechanism so the code runs inside normal software. This is dangerous because security tools and users often trust the host application more than unknown binaries.
In real intrusions, execution flow hijacking can happen through DLL search order abuse, malicious components, or runtime features such as .NET startup customization. For example, an attacker may alter configuration so a trusted .NET app loads an attacker-supplied assembly early in startup. Defenders look for unexpected file changes, unusual module loads, and process behavior that does not match the signed application. Monitoring write access to application directories and startup settings helps catch this technique before it becomes a stealthy foothold.