Sigma rule: Msiexec Quiet Installation

Rule

Title

Msiexec Quiet Installation

Status

test

Level

medium

Author

frack113

Date

2022-01-16

Modified

2026-07-28

File

rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_msiexec_install_quiet.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Adversaries may abuse msiexec.exe to proxy execution of malicious payloads.
Msiexec.exe is the command-line utility for the Windows Installer and is thus commonly associated with executing installation packages (.msi)

Log source

product

windows

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\msiexec.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'msiexec.exe'
selection_cli:
    # Note that there is no space before and after the arguments because it's possible to write a commandline as such
    # Example: msiexec -q/i [MSI Package]
    CommandLine|contains|windash:
        - '-i'
        - '-package'
        - '-a'
        - '-j'
selection_quiet:
    CommandLine|contains|windash: '-q'
filter_main_system_temp:
    ParentImage|startswith: 'C:\Windows\Temp\'
filter_main_ccm:
    ParentImage: 'C:\Windows\CCM\Ccm32BitLauncher.exe'
    IntegrityLevel:
        - 'System'
        - 'S-1-16-16384'
filter_optional_user_temp:
    # The %temp% is a very common location for installers
    ParentImage|startswith: 'C:\Users\'
    ParentImage|contains: '\AppData\Local\Temp\'
filter_optional_wsl:
    # C:\WINDOWS\system32\msiexec.exe /quiet /i "C:\Users\xodih\AppData\Local\Temp\wsl.2.6.3.0.arm64 (2).msi" SKIPVALIDATION=1 /L*V C:\Users\xodih\AppData\Local\Temp\wsl-install-logs.txt
    ParentImage|endswith: 'C:\Windows\System32\wsl.exe'
    Image|endswith: 'C:\Windows\System32\msiexec.exe'
condition: all of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• WindowsApps installing updates via the quiet flag

Tags

• attack.stealth
• attack.t1218.007

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1218.007

References

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/msiexec
• https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1218.007/T1218.007.md
• https://twitter.com/_st0pp3r_/status/1583914244344799235

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_msiexec_install_quiet.yml