Sigma rule: VsCode Powershell Profile Modification

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-17a76783a3ff, updated 2023-01-06T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
VsCode Powershell Profile Modification
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-08-24
Modified
2023-01-06
File
rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_susp_vscode_powershell_profile.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the creation or modification of a vscode related powershell profile which could indicate suspicious activity as the profile can be used as a mean of persistence

Log source

product
windows
category
file_event

Detection

selection:
    TargetFilename|endswith: '\Microsoft.VSCode_profile.ps1'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use of the profile by developers or administrators

Tags

  • attack.persistence
  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.t1546.013

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

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_susp_vscode_powershell_profile.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "VsCode Powershell Profile Modification" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_susp_vscode_powershell_profile.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: VsCode Powershell Profile Modification",
entity page, dataset version ref-17a76783a3ff, updated 2023-01-06T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/3a9fa2ec-30bc-4ebd-b49e-7c9cff225502 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 3a9fa2ec-30bc-4ebd-b49e-7c9cff225502, 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.