Sigma rule: Outlook EnableUnsafeClientMailRules Setting Enabled
A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-3480d05f1cc5, updated 2023-02-09T00:00:00.000Z.
Rule
- Title
- Outlook EnableUnsafeClientMailRules Setting Enabled
- Status
- test
- Level
- high
- Author
- Markus Neis, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
- Date
- 2018-12-27
- Modified
- 2023-02-09
- File
- rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_office_outlook_enable_unsafe_client_mail_rules.yml
- Commit
- ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84
Detects an attacker trying to enable the outlook security setting "EnableUnsafeClientMailRules" which allows outlook to run applications or execute macros
Log source
- product
- windows
- category
- process_creation
Detection
selection:
CommandLine|contains: '\Outlook\Security\EnableUnsafeClientMailRules'
condition: selectionFalse positives (as the rule lists them)
- Unknown
Tags
- attack.execution
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1059
- attack.t1202
MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names
Related rules
References
- https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2018/12/overruled-containing-a-potentially-destructive-adversary.html
- https://speakerdeck.com/heirhabarov/hunting-for-persistence-via-microsoft-exchange-server-or-outlook?slide=44
- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-control-the-rule-actions-to-start-an-application-or-run-a-macro-in-outlook-2016-and-outlook-2013-e4964b72-173c-959d-5d7b-ead562979048
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_office_outlook_enable_unsafe_client_mail_rules.yml
Sources and licences
SigmaHQ
"Outlook EnableUnsafeClientMailRules Setting Enabled" by Markus Neis, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_office_outlook_enable_unsafe_client_mail_rules.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: Outlook EnableUnsafeClientMailRules Setting Enabled",
entity page, dataset version ref-3480d05f1cc5, updated 2023-02-09T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/55f0a3a1-846e-40eb-8273-677371b8d912 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 55f0a3a1-846e-40eb-8273-677371b8d912, 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.