Sigma rule: Self Extraction Directive File Created In Potentially Suspicious Location

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-aad1338f7e91, updated 2024-02-05T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Self Extraction Directive File Created In Potentially Suspicious Location
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Joseliyo Sanchez, @Joseliyo_Jstnk
Date
2024-02-05
File
rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_sed_file_creation.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the creation of Self Extraction Directive files (.sed) in a potentially suspicious location.
These files are used by the "iexpress.exe" utility in order to create self extracting packages.
Attackers were seen abusing this utility and creating PE files with embedded ".sed" entries.

Log source

product
windows
category
file_event

Detection

selection:
    TargetFilename|contains:
        - ':\ProgramData\'
        - ':\Temp\'
        - ':\Windows\System32\Tasks\'
        - ':\Windows\Tasks\'
        - ':\Windows\Temp\'
        - '\AppData\Local\Temp\'
    TargetFilename|endswith: '.sed'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1218

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

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/file/file_event/file_event_win_sed_file_creation.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Self Extraction Directive File Created In Potentially Suspicious Location" by Joseliyo Sanchez, @Joseliyo_Jstnk (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_sed_file_creation.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: Self Extraction Directive File Created In Potentially Suspicious Location",
entity page, dataset version ref-aad1338f7e91, updated 2024-02-05T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/760e75d8-c3b5-409b-a9bf-6130b4c4603f (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 760e75d8-c3b5-409b-a9bf-6130b4c4603f, 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.