Sigma rule: Msxsl.EXE Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-2284eb9b2e03, updated 2023-11-09T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Msxsl.EXE Execution
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community
Date
2019-10-21
Modified
2023-11-09
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_msxsl_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of the MSXSL utility. This can be used to execute Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) files. These files are commonly used to describe the processing and rendering of data within XML files.
Adversaries can abuse this functionality to execute arbitrary files while potentially bypassing application whitelisting defenses.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: '\msxsl.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Msxsl is not installed by default and is deprecated, so unlikely on most systems.

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1220

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_msxsl_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Msxsl.EXE Execution" by Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_msxsl_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: Msxsl.EXE Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-2284eb9b2e03, updated 2023-11-09T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/9e50a8b3-dd05-4eb8-9153-bdb6b79d50b0 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 9e50a8b3-dd05-4eb8-9153-bdb6b79d50b0, 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.