Sigma rule: Access To Windows Credential History File By Uncommon Applications

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-3c4c53e251f2, updated 2024-07-29T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Access To Windows Credential History File By Uncommon Applications
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-10-17
Modified
2024-07-29
File
rules/windows/file/file_access/file_access_win_susp_credhist.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects file access requests to the Windows Credential History File by an uncommon application.
This can be a sign of credential stealing. Example case would be usage of mimikatz "dpapi::credhist" function

Log source

product
windows
category
file_access
definition
Requirements: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-File ETW provider

Detection

selection:
    FileName|endswith: '\Microsoft\Protect\CREDHIST'
filter_main_system_folders:
    Image|startswith:
        - 'C:\Program Files\'
        - 'C:\Program Files (x86)\'
        - 'C:\Windows\system32\'
        - 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64\'
filter_main_explorer:
    Image: 'C:\Windows\explorer.exe'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.credential-access
  • attack.t1555.004

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/file/file_access/file_access_win_susp_credhist.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Access To Windows Credential History File By Uncommon Applications" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/file/file_access/file_access_win_susp_credhist.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: Access To Windows Credential History File By Uncommon Applications",
entity page, dataset version ref-3c4c53e251f2, updated 2024-07-29T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/7a2a22ea-a203-4cd3-9abf-20eb1c5c6cd2 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 7a2a22ea-a203-4cd3-9abf-20eb1c5c6cd2, 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.