Sigma rule: Hidden Powershell in Link File Pattern

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-bea3717d33fd, updated 2022-02-06T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title: Hidden Powershell in Link File Pattern
Status: test
Level: medium
Author: frack113
Date: 2022-02-06
File: rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_susp_embed_exe_lnk.yml
Commit: ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects events that appear when a user click on a link file with a powershell command in it

Log source

product: windows
category: process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage: C:\Windows\explorer.exe
    Image: C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'powershell'
        - '.lnk'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

Legitimate commands in .lnk files

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

T1059.001

References

https://www.x86matthew.com/view_post?id=embed_exe_lnk

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_susp_embed_exe_lnk.yml

Sources and licences

SigmaHQ
"Hidden Powershell in Link File Pattern" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_susp_embed_exe_lnk.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: Hidden Powershell in Link File Pattern",
entity page, dataset version ref-bea3717d33fd, updated 2022-02-06T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/30e92f50-bb5a-4884-98b5-d20aa80f3d7a (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 30e92f50-bb5a-4884-98b5-d20aa80f3d7a, 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.