Sigma rule: Powershell Executed From Headless ConHost Process

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-7e7f90d350ca, updated 2024-07-23T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Powershell Executed From Headless ConHost Process
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Matt Anderson (Huntress)
Date
2024-07-23
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_conhost_headless_powershell.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the use of powershell commands from headless ConHost window.
The "--headless" flag hides the windows from the user upon execution.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\conhost.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'CONHOST.EXE'
selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - '--headless'
        - 'powershell'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1059.001
  • attack.t1059.003
  • attack.t1564.003

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_conhost_headless_powershell.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Powershell Executed From Headless ConHost Process" by Matt Anderson (Huntress) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_conhost_headless_powershell.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Powershell Executed From Headless ConHost Process",
entity page, dataset version ref-7e7f90d350ca, updated 2024-07-23T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/056c7317-9a09-4bd4-9067-d051312752ea (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 056c7317-9a09-4bd4-9067-d051312752ea, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.