Sigma rule: File Creation In Suspicious Directory By Msdt.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-a5b0b169d2f5, updated 2023-02-23T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
File Creation In Suspicious Directory By Msdt.EXE
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Vadim Varganov, Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-08-24
Modified
2023-02-23
File
rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_msdt_susp_directories.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects msdt.exe creating files in suspicious directories which could be a sign of exploitation of either Follina or Dogwalk vulnerabilities

Log source

product
windows
category
file_event

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: '\msdt.exe'
    TargetFilename|contains:
        - '\Desktop\'
        - '\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\'
        - 'C:\PerfLogs\'
        - 'C:\ProgramData\'
        - 'C:\Users\Public\'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.t1547.001
  • cve.2022-30190

CVEs this rule names

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/file/file_event/file_event_win_msdt_susp_directories.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "File Creation In Suspicious Directory By Msdt.EXE" by Vadim Varganov, Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_msdt_susp_directories.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: File Creation In Suspicious Directory By Msdt.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-a5b0b169d2f5, updated 2023-02-23T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/318557a5-150c-4c8d-b70e-a9910e199857 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 318557a5-150c-4c8d-b70e-a9910e199857, 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.