Sigma rule: OpenEDR Spawning Command Shell

Rule

Title

OpenEDR Spawning Command Shell

Status

experimental

Level

medium

Author

@kostastsale

Date

2026-02-19

File

rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_comodo_ssh_shellhost_cmd_spawn.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the OpenEDR ssh-shellhost.exe spawning a command shell (cmd.exe) or PowerShell with PTY (pseudo-terminal) capabilities.
This may indicate remote command execution through OpenEDR's remote management features, which could be legitimate administrative activity or potential abuse of the remote access tool.
Threat actors may leverage OpenEDR's remote shell capabilities to execute commands on compromised systems, facilitating lateral movement or other command-and-control operations.

Log source

product

windows

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\ITSMService.exe'
    Image|endswith: '\ssh-shellhost.exe'
    CommandLine|contains: '--pty'
selection_cli_shell:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'bash'
        - 'cmd'
        - 'powershell'
        - 'pwsh'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Legitimate use of OpenEDR for remote command execution

Tags

• attack.execution
• attack.t1059.003
• attack.lateral-movement
• attack.t1021.004
• attack.command-and-control
• attack.t1219

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1021.004
• T1059.003
• T1219

References

• https://kostas-ts.medium.com/detecting-abuse-of-openedrs-permissive-edr-trial-a-security-researcher-s-perspective-fc55bf53972c

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_comodo_ssh_shellhost_cmd_spawn.yml