Sigma rule: Windows Network Access Suspicious desktop.ini Action

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-e8ff6f3755f4, updated 2022-01-16T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Windows Network Access Suspicious desktop.ini Action
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Tim Shelton (HAWK.IO)
Date
2021-12-06
Modified
2022-01-16
File
rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_net_share_obj_susp_desktop_ini.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects unusual processes accessing desktop.ini remotely over network share, which can be leveraged to alter how Explorer displays a folder's content (i.e. renaming files) without changing them on disk.

Log source

product
windows
service
security

Detection

selection:
    EventID: 5145
    ObjectType: File
    RelativeTargetName|endswith: '\desktop.ini'
    AccessList|contains:
        - 'WriteData'
        - 'DELETE'
        - 'WriteDAC'
        - 'AppendData'
        - 'AddSubdirectory'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Read only access list authority

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.t1547.009

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/builtin/security/win_security_net_share_obj_susp_desktop_ini.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Windows Network Access Suspicious desktop.ini Action" by Tim Shelton (HAWK.IO) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_net_share_obj_susp_desktop_ini.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: Windows Network Access Suspicious desktop.ini Action",
entity page, dataset version ref-e8ff6f3755f4, updated 2022-01-16T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/35bc7e28-ee6b-492f-ab04-da58fcf6402e (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 35bc7e28-ee6b-492f-ab04-da58fcf6402e, 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.