Sigma rule: XSL Script Execution Via WMIC.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-37e67a30fb93, updated 2026-01-24T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
XSL Script Execution Via WMIC.EXE
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community, Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel
Date
2019-10-21
Modified
2026-01-24
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_wmic_xsl_script_processing.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of WMIC with the "format" flag to potentially load local XSL files.
Adversaries abuse this functionality to execute arbitrary files while potentially bypassing application whitelisting defenses.
Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) files are commonly used to describe the processing and rendering of data within XML files.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\wmic.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'wmic.exe'
    - Hashes|contains:  # Sysmon field hashes contains all types
          - 'IMPHASH=1B1A3F43BF37B5BFE60751F2EE2F326E'
          - 'IMPHASH=37777A96245A3C74EB217308F3546F4C'
          - 'IMPHASH=9D87C9D67CE724033C0B40CC4CA1B206'
          - 'IMPHASH=B12619881D79C3ACADF45E752A58554A'
          - 'IMPHASH=16A48C3CABF98A9DC1BF02C07FE1EA00'
selection_cmd:
    CommandLine|contains|windash: '-format:'     # wmic process list -FORMAT /? or wmic process list /FORMAT /?
filter_main_known_format:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'Format:List'
        - 'Format:htable'
        - 'Format:hform'
        - 'Format:table'
        - 'Format:mof'
        - 'Format:value'
        - 'Format:rawxml'
        - 'Format:xml'
        - 'Format:csv'
filter_main_remote_operation: # Covered by 8d63dadf-b91b-4187-87b6-34a1114577ea
    CommandLine|contains:
        - '://'
        - '\\\\'
condition: all of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • WMIC.exe FP depend on scripts and administrative methods used in the monitored environment.
  • Static format arguments - https://petri.com/command-line-wmi-part-3

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1047
  • attack.t1220
  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1059.005
  • attack.t1059.007

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_wmic_xsl_script_processing.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "XSL Script Execution Via WMIC.EXE" by Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community, Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_wmic_xsl_script_processing.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: XSL Script Execution Via WMIC.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-37e67a30fb93, updated 2026-01-24T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/05c36dd6-79d6-4a9a-97da-3db20298ab2d (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 05c36dd6-79d6-4a9a-97da-3db20298ab2d, 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.