Sigma rule: Potential COLDSTEEL RAT Windows User Creation

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-b8144ac2c655, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential COLDSTEEL RAT Windows User Creation
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-05-02
Modified
2023-08-17
File
rules-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/COLDSTEEL/registry_set_malware_coldsteel_created_users.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects creation of a new user profile with a specific username, seen being used by some variants of the COLDSTEEL RAT.

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|contains|all:
        - '\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\S-1-5-21-'
        - '\ProfileImagePath'
    Details|contains:
        - 'ANONYMOUS'
        - '_DomainUser_'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.persistence
  • detection.emerging-threats

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-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/COLDSTEEL/registry_set_malware_coldsteel_created_users.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential COLDSTEEL RAT Windows User Creation" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/COLDSTEEL/registry_set_malware_coldsteel_created_users.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: Potential COLDSTEEL RAT Windows User Creation",
entity page, dataset version ref-b8144ac2c655, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/95214813-4c7a-4a50-921b-ee5c538e1d16 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 95214813-4c7a-4a50-921b-ee5c538e1d16, 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.