Sigma rule: Cloudflared Tunnel Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-35f951ec603a, updated 2023-12-20T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Cloudflared Tunnel Execution
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Janantha Marasinghe, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-05-17
Modified
2023-12-20
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cloudflared_tunnel_run.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects execution of the "cloudflared" tool to connect back to a tunnel. This was seen used by threat actors to maintain persistence and remote access to compromised networks.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - ' tunnel '
        - ' run '
    CommandLine|contains:
        - '-config '
        - '-credentials-contents '
        - '-credentials-file '
        - '-token '
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate usage of Cloudflared tunnel.

Tags

  • attack.command-and-control
  • attack.t1102
  • attack.t1090
  • attack.t1572

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/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cloudflared_tunnel_run.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Cloudflared Tunnel Execution" by Janantha Marasinghe, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cloudflared_tunnel_run.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: Cloudflared Tunnel Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-35f951ec603a, updated 2023-12-20T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/9a019ffc-3580-4c9d-8d87-079f7e8d3fd4 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 9a019ffc-3580-4c9d-8d87-079f7e8d3fd4, 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.