Sigma rule: Forfiles Command Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-3735d298bac9, updated 2024-03-05T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Forfiles Command Execution
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Tim Rauch, Elastic, E.M. Anhaus (originally from Atomic Blue Detections, Endgame), oscd.community
Date
2022-06-14
Modified
2024-03-05
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_forfiles_proxy_execution_.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of "forfiles" with the "/c" flag.
While this is an expected behavior of the tool, it can be abused in order to proxy execution through it with any binary.
Can be used to bypass application whitelisting.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\forfiles.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'forfiles.exe'
selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|windash: ' -c '
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use via a batch script or by an administrator.

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1059

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_forfiles_proxy_execution_.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Forfiles Command Execution" by Tim Rauch, Elastic, E.M. Anhaus (originally from Atomic Blue Detections, Endgame), oscd.community (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_forfiles_proxy_execution_.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: Forfiles Command Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-3735d298bac9, updated 2024-03-05T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/9aa5106d-bce3-4b13-86df-3a20f1d5cf0b (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 9aa5106d-bce3-4b13-86df-3a20f1d5cf0b, 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.