Sigma rule: Run Whoami as SYSTEM

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-41b0b90e3ceb, updated 2023-02-28T00:00:00.000Z.

SigmaHQ marks this rule as deprecated.

Rule

Title
Run Whoami as SYSTEM
Status
deprecated
Level
high
Author
Teymur Kheirkhabarov, Florian Roth
Date
2019/10/23
Modified
2023/02/28
File
deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_whoami_as_system.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects a whoami.exe executed by LOCAL SYSTEM. This may be a sign of a successful local privilege escalation.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_user:
    User|contains: # covers many language settings
        - 'AUTHORI'
        - 'AUTORI'
selection_img:
    - OriginalFileName: 'whoami.exe'
    - Image|endswith: '\whoami.exe'
condition: all of selection*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Possible name overlap with NT AUHTORITY substring to cover all languages

Tags

  • attack.privilege_escalation
  • attack.discovery
  • attack.t1033

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/deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_whoami_as_system.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Run Whoami as SYSTEM" by Teymur Kheirkhabarov, Florian Roth (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_whoami_as_system.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: Run Whoami as SYSTEM",
entity page, dataset version ref-41b0b90e3ceb, updated 2023-02-28T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/80167ada-7a12-41ed-b8e9-aa47195c66a1 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 80167ada-7a12-41ed-b8e9-aa47195c66a1, 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.