Sigma rule: Suspicious Msiexec Quiet Install From Remote Location

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-a21b50835d93, updated 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Suspicious Msiexec Quiet Install From Remote Location
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-10-28
Modified
2025-10-07
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_msiexec_install_remote.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects usage of Msiexec.exe to install packages hosted remotely quietly

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\msiexec.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'msiexec.exe'
selection_cli:
    # Note that there is no space before and after the arguments because it's possible to write a commandline as such
    # Example: msiexec -q/i [MSI Package]
    CommandLine|contains|windash:
        - '-i'
        - '-package'
        - '-a'
        - '-j'
selection_quiet:
    CommandLine|contains|windash: '-q'
selection_remote:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'http'
        - '\\\\'
filter_optional_openoffice:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - '\AppData\Local\Temp\OpenOffice'
        - 'Installation Files\openoffice'
condition: all of selection_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1218.007

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

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_msiexec_install_remote.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Suspicious Msiexec Quiet Install From Remote Location" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_msiexec_install_remote.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 Msiexec Quiet Install From Remote Location",
entity page, dataset version ref-a21b50835d93, updated 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/8150732a-0c9d-4a99-82b9-9efb9b90c40c (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 8150732a-0c9d-4a99-82b9-9efb9b90c40c, 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.