Sigma rule: Desktop.INI Created by Uncommon Process

Rule

Title

Desktop.INI Created by Uncommon Process

Status

test

Level

medium

Author

Maxime Thiebaut (@0xThiebaut), Tim Shelton (HAWK.IO)

Date

2020-03-19

Modified

2025-12-09

File

rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_desktop_ini_created_by_uncommon_process.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects unusual processes accessing desktop.ini, which can be leveraged to alter how Explorer displays a folder's content (i.e. renaming files) without changing them on disk.

Log source

product

windows

category

file_event

Detection

selection:
    TargetFilename|endswith: '\desktop.ini'
filter_main_generic:
    Image|startswith:
        - 'C:\Windows\'
        - 'C:\Program Files\'
        - 'C:\Program Files (x86)\'
filter_main_upgrade:
    TargetFilename|startswith: 'C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\NewOS\'
filter_optional_jetbrains:
    Image|startswith: 'C:\Users\'
    Image|endswith: '\AppData\Local\JetBrains\Toolbox\bin\7z.exe'
    TargetFilename|contains: '\JetBrains\apps\'
filter_optional_onedrive:
    Image|startswith: 'C:\Users\'
    Image|contains: '\AppData\Local\Microsoft\OneDrive\'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Operations performed through Windows SCCM or equivalent
• Read only access list authority

Tags

• attack.privilege-escalation
• attack.persistence
• attack.t1547.009

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1547.009

References

• https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Desktopini+as+a+postexploitation+tool/25912/

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_event/file_event_win_desktop_ini_created_by_uncommon_process.yml