Sigma rule: Invoke-Obfuscation Obfuscated IEX Invocation - System

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-ad8067af1c83, updated 2022-11-27T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Invoke-Obfuscation Obfuscated IEX Invocation - System
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Daniel Bohannon (@Mandiant/@FireEye), oscd.community
Date
2019-11-08
Modified
2022-11-27
File
rules/windows/builtin/system/service_control_manager/win_system_invoke_obfuscation_obfuscated_iex_services.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects all variations of obfuscated powershell IEX invocation code generated by Invoke-Obfuscation framework from the code block linked in the references

Log source

product
windows
service
system

Detection

selection_eid:
    EventID: 7045
selection_imagepath:
    - ImagePath|re: '\$PSHome\[\s*\d{1,3}\s*\]\s*\+\s*\$PSHome\['
    - ImagePath|re: '\$ShellId\[\s*\d{1,3}\s*\]\s*\+\s*\$ShellId\['
    - ImagePath|re: '\$env:Public\[\s*\d{1,3}\s*\]\s*\+\s*\$env:Public\['
    - ImagePath|re: '\$env:ComSpec\[(\s*\d{1,3}\s*,){2}'
    - ImagePath|re: '\\*mdr\*\W\s*\)\.Name'
    - ImagePath|re: '\$VerbosePreference\.ToString\('
    - ImagePath|re: '\String\]\s*\$VerbosePreference'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1027

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/builtin/system/service_control_manager/win_system_invoke_obfuscation_obfuscated_iex_services.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Invoke-Obfuscation Obfuscated IEX Invocation - System" by Daniel Bohannon (@Mandiant/@FireEye), oscd.community (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/system/service_control_manager/win_system_invoke_obfuscation_obfuscated_iex_services.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: Invoke-Obfuscation Obfuscated IEX Invocation - System",
entity page, dataset version ref-ad8067af1c83, updated 2022-11-27T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/51aa9387-1c53-4153-91cc-d73c59ae1ca9 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 51aa9387-1c53-4153-91cc-d73c59ae1ca9, 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.