Sigma rule: Taskkill Symantec Endpoint Protection

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-25f438a4d95f, updated 2022-09-13T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Taskkill Symantec Endpoint Protection
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Ilya Krestinichev, Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-09-13
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_taskkill_sep.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects one of the possible scenarios for disabling Symantec Endpoint Protection.
Symantec Endpoint Protection antivirus software services incorrectly implement the protected service mechanism.
As a result, the NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM user can execute the taskkill /im command several times ccSvcHst.exe /f, thereby killing the process belonging to the service, and thus shutting down the service.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'taskkill'
        - ' /F '
        - ' /IM '
        - 'ccSvcHst.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1685

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_taskkill_sep.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Taskkill Symantec Endpoint Protection" by Ilya Krestinichev, Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_taskkill_sep.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: Taskkill Symantec Endpoint Protection",
entity page, dataset version ref-25f438a4d95f, updated 2022-09-13T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/4a6713f6-3331-11ed-a261-0242ac120002 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 4a6713f6-3331-11ed-a261-0242ac120002, 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.