Sigma rule: Potential Recon Activity Using DriverQuery.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-8fa0b0544feb, updated 2023-09-29T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential Recon Activity Using DriverQuery.EXE
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-01-19
Modified
2023-09-29
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_driverquery_recon.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detect usage of the "driverquery" utility to perform reconnaissance on installed drivers

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: 'driverquery.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'drvqry.exe'
selection_parent:
    - ParentImage|endswith:
          - '\cscript.exe'
          - '\mshta.exe'
          - '\regsvr32.exe'
          - '\rundll32.exe'
          - '\wscript.exe'
    - ParentImage|contains:
          - '\AppData\Local\'
          - '\Users\Public\'
          - '\Windows\Temp\'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate usage by some scripts might trigger this as well

Tags

  • attack.discovery

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_driverquery_recon.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential Recon Activity Using DriverQuery.EXE" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_driverquery_recon.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 Recon Activity Using DriverQuery.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-8fa0b0544feb, updated 2023-09-29T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/9fc3072c-dc8f-4bf7-b231-18950000fadd (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 9fc3072c-dc8f-4bf7-b231-18950000fadd, 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.