Sigma rule: Important Windows Eventlog Cleared

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-d08241607286, updated 2023-11-15T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Important Windows Eventlog Cleared
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Tim Shelton, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-05-17
Modified
2023-11-15
File
rules/windows/builtin/system/microsoft_windows_eventlog/win_system_susp_eventlog_cleared.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the clearing of one of the Windows Core Eventlogs. e.g. caused by "wevtutil cl" command execution

Log source

product
windows
service
system

Detection

selection:
    EventID: 104
    Provider_Name: 'Microsoft-Windows-Eventlog'
    Channel:
        - 'Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational'
        - 'Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'
        - 'PowerShellCore/Operational'
        - 'Security'
        - 'System'
        - 'Windows PowerShell'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Rollout of log collection agents (the setup routine often includes a reset of the local Eventlog)
  • System provisioning (system reset before the golden image creation)

Tags

  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1685.005
  • car.2016-04-002

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/builtin/system/microsoft_windows_eventlog/win_system_susp_eventlog_cleared.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Important Windows Eventlog Cleared" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Tim Shelton, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/system/microsoft_windows_eventlog/win_system_susp_eventlog_cleared.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: Important Windows Eventlog Cleared",
entity page, dataset version ref-d08241607286, updated 2023-11-15T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/100ef69e-3327-481c-8e5c-6d80d9507556 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 100ef69e-3327-481c-8e5c-6d80d9507556, 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.