Sigma rule: AWL Bypass with Winrm.vbs and Malicious WsmPty.xsl/WsmTxt.xsl

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-3e2c1e630d8e, updated 2022-10-09T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
AWL Bypass with Winrm.vbs and Malicious WsmPty.xsl/WsmTxt.xsl
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Julia Fomina, oscd.community
Date
2020-10-06
Modified
2022-10-09
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_winrm_awl_bypass.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects execution of attacker-controlled WsmPty.xsl or WsmTxt.xsl via winrm.vbs and copied cscript.exe (can be renamed)

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

contains_format_pretty_arg:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'format:pretty'
        - 'format:"pretty"'
        - 'format:"text"'
        - 'format:text'
image_from_system_folder:
    Image|startswith:
        - 'C:\Windows\System32\'
        - 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64\'
contains_winrm:
    CommandLine|contains: 'winrm'
condition: contains_winrm and (contains_format_pretty_arg and not image_from_system_folder)

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unlikely

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1216

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

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_winrm_awl_bypass.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "AWL Bypass with Winrm.vbs and Malicious WsmPty.xsl/WsmTxt.xsl" by Julia Fomina, oscd.community (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_winrm_awl_bypass.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: AWL Bypass with Winrm.vbs and Malicious WsmPty.xsl/WsmTxt.xsl",
entity page, dataset version ref-3e2c1e630d8e, updated 2022-10-09T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/074e0ded-6ced-4ebd-8b4d-53f55908119d (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 074e0ded-6ced-4ebd-8b4d-53f55908119d, 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.