Sigma rule: Query Usage To Exfil Data

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-2d45145a9d9f, updated 2023-01-19T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Query Usage To Exfil Data
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-08-01
Modified
2023-01-19
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_query_session_exfil.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects usage of "query.exe" a system binary to exfil information such as "sessions" and "processes" for later use

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: ':\Windows\System32\query.exe'
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'session >'
        - 'process >'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.execution

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_query_session_exfil.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Query Usage To Exfil Data" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_query_session_exfil.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: Query Usage To Exfil Data",
entity page, dataset version ref-2d45145a9d9f, updated 2023-01-19T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/53ef0cef-fa24-4f25-a34a-6c72dfa2e6e2 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 53ef0cef-fa24-4f25-a34a-6c72dfa2e6e2, 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.