Sigma rule: Suspicious IIS URL GlobalRules Rewrite Via AppCmd

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-03e9fc6588c7, updated 2023-01-22T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Suspicious IIS URL GlobalRules Rewrite Via AppCmd
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-01-22
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_iis_appcmd_susp_rewrite_rule.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects usage of "appcmd" to create new global URL rewrite rules. This behaviour has been observed being used by threat actors to add new rules so they can access their webshells.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\appcmd.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'appcmd.exe'
selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'set'
        - 'config'
        - 'section:system.webServer/rewrite/globalRules'
        - 'commit:'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate usage of appcmd to add new URL rewrite rules

Tags

  • attack.stealth

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_iis_appcmd_susp_rewrite_rule.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Suspicious IIS URL GlobalRules Rewrite Via AppCmd" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_iis_appcmd_susp_rewrite_rule.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: Suspicious IIS URL GlobalRules Rewrite Via AppCmd",
entity page, dataset version ref-03e9fc6588c7, updated 2023-01-22T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/7c8af9b2-dcae-41a2-a9db-b28c288b5f08 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 7c8af9b2-dcae-41a2-a9db-b28c288b5f08, 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.