Sigma rule: Findstr GPP Passwords

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-c598f859f173, updated 2023-11-11T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title: Findstr GPP Passwords
Status: test
Level: high
Author: frack113
Date: 2021-12-27
Modified: 2023-11-11
File: rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_findstr_gpp_passwords.yml
Commit: ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Look for the encrypted cpassword value within Group Policy Preference files on the Domain Controller. This value can be decrypted with gpp-decrypt.

Log source

product: windows
category: process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith:
          - '\find.exe'
          - '\findstr.exe'
    - OriginalFileName:
          - 'FIND.EXE'
          - 'FINDSTR.EXE'
selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'cpassword'
        - '\sysvol\'
        - '.xml'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

Unknown

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

T1552.006

References

https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1552.006/T1552.006.md#atomic-test-1---gpp-passwords-findstr

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_findstr_gpp_passwords.yml

Sources and licences

SigmaHQ
"Findstr GPP Passwords" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_findstr_gpp_passwords.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: Findstr GPP Passwords",
entity page, dataset version ref-c598f859f173, updated 2023-11-11T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/91a2c315-9ee6-4052-a853-6f6a8238f90d (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 91a2c315-9ee6-4052-a853-6f6a8238f90d, 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.