Sigma rule: HKTL - SharpSuccessor Privilege Escalation Tool Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-64003830d8ec, updated 2025-06-06T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
HKTL - SharpSuccessor Privilege Escalation Tool Execution
Status
experimental
Level
high
Author
Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
Date
2025-06-06
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_hktl_sharpsuccessor_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of SharpSuccessor, a tool used to exploit the BadSuccessor attack for privilege escalation in WinServer 2025 Active Directory environments.
Successful usage of this tool can let the attackers gain the domain admin privileges by exploiting the BadSuccessor vulnerability.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    - Image|endswith: '\SharpSuccessor.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'SharpSuccessor.exe'
    - CommandLine|contains: 'SharpSuccessor'
    - CommandLine|contains|all:
          - ' add '
          - ' /impersonate'
          - ' /path'
          - ' /account'
          - ' /name'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.t1068

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/process_creation/proc_creation_win_hktl_sharpsuccessor_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "HKTL - SharpSuccessor Privilege Escalation Tool Execution" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_hktl_sharpsuccessor_execution.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: HKTL - SharpSuccessor Privilege Escalation Tool Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-64003830d8ec, updated 2025-06-06T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/38a1ac5f-9c74-47d2-a345-dd6f5eb4e7c8 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 38a1ac5f-9c74-47d2-a345-dd6f5eb4e7c8, 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.