Sigma rule: Potential Mftrace.EXE Abuse

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-af991cb136f9, updated 2023-08-03T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential Mftrace.EXE Abuse
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-06-09
Modified
2023-08-03
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_mftrace_child_process.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects child processes of the "Trace log generation tool for Media Foundation Tools" (Mftrace.exe) which can abused to execute arbitrary binaries.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\mftrace.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use for tracing purposes

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1127

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_mftrace_child_process.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential Mftrace.EXE Abuse" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_mftrace_child_process.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: Potential Mftrace.EXE Abuse",
entity page, dataset version ref-af991cb136f9, updated 2023-08-03T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/3d48c9d3-1aa6-418d-98d3-8fd3c01a564e (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 3d48c9d3-1aa6-418d-98d3-8fd3c01a564e, 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.