Sigma rule: Active Directory Structure Export Via Ldifde.EXE
A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-15bec1cd3a2b, updated 2023-03-14T00:00:00.000Z.
Rule
- Title
- Active Directory Structure Export Via Ldifde.EXE
- Status
- test
- Level
- medium
- Author
- Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
- Date
- 2023-03-14
- File
- rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_ldifde_export.yml
- Commit
- ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84
Detects the execution of "ldifde.exe" in order to export organizational Active Directory structure.
Log source
- product
- windows
- category
- process_creation
Detection
selection_ldif:
- Image|endswith: '\ldifde.exe'
- OriginalFileName: 'ldifde.exe'
selection_cmd:
CommandLine|contains: '-f'
filter_import:
CommandLine|contains: ' -i'
condition: all of selection_* and not 1 of filter_*False positives (as the rule lists them)
- Unknown
Tags
- attack.exfiltration
References
- https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/deep-dive-into-a-backdoordiplomacy-attack-a-study-of-an-attackers-toolkit
- https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5743766-Global-Threat-Report-2019.html
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-r2-and-2012/cc731033(v=ws.11)
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_ldifde_export.yml
Sources and licences
SigmaHQ
"Active Directory Structure Export Via Ldifde.EXE" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_ldifde_export.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License
Cite this page
Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Active Directory Structure Export Via Ldifde.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-15bec1cd3a2b, updated 2023-03-14T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/4f7a6757-ff79-46db-9687-66501a02d9ec (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 4f7a6757-ff79-46db-9687-66501a02d9ec, 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.