Sigma rule: ClickOnce Deployment Execution - Dfsvc.EXE Child Process

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-73419cb84c93, updated 2023-06-12T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
ClickOnce Deployment Execution - Dfsvc.EXE Child Process
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-06-12
File
rules-threat-hunting/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_dfsvc_child_processes.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects child processes of "dfsvc" which indicates a ClickOnce deployment execution.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\dfsvc.exe'
    Image|endswith: '\AppData\Local\Apps\2.0\'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • False positives are expected in environement leveraging ClickOnce deployments. An initial baselining is required before using this rule in production.

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • detection.threat-hunting
  • attack.stealth

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-threat-hunting/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_dfsvc_child_processes.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "ClickOnce Deployment Execution - Dfsvc.EXE Child Process" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-threat-hunting/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_dfsvc_child_processes.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: ClickOnce Deployment Execution - Dfsvc.EXE Child Process",
entity page, dataset version ref-73419cb84c93, updated 2023-06-12T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/241d52b5-eee0-49d0-ac8a-8b9c15c7221c (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 241d52b5-eee0-49d0-ac8a-8b9c15c7221c, 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.