Sigma rule: Proxy Execution Via Wuauclt.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-c5badcf8e1cf, updated 2023-11-11T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Proxy Execution Via Wuauclt.EXE
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Roberto Rodriguez (Cyb3rWard0g), OTR (Open Threat Research), Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Sreeman, FPT.EagleEye Team
Date
2020-10-12
Modified
2023-11-11
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_wuauclt_dll_loading.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the use of the Windows Update Client binary (wuauclt.exe) for proxy execution.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\wuauclt.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'wuauclt.exe'
selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'UpdateDeploymentProvider'
        - 'RunHandlerComServer'
filter_main_generic:
    # Note: Please enhance this if you find the full path
    CommandLine|contains: ' /UpdateDeploymentProvider UpdateDeploymentProvider.dll '
filter_main_wuaueng:
    # Note: Please enhance this if you find the full path
    CommandLine|contains: ' wuaueng.dll '
filter_main_uus:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - ':\Windows\UUS\Packages\Preview\amd64\updatedeploy.dll /ClassId'
        - ':\Windows\UUS\amd64\UpdateDeploy.dll /ClassId'
filter_main_winsxs:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - ':\Windows\WinSxS\'
        - '\UpdateDeploy.dll /ClassId '
condition: all of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1218
  • attack.execution

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_wuauclt_dll_loading.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Proxy Execution Via Wuauclt.EXE" by Roberto Rodriguez (Cyb3rWard0g), OTR (Open Threat Research), Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Sreeman, FPT.EagleEye Team (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_wuauclt_dll_loading.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: Proxy Execution Via Wuauclt.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-c5badcf8e1cf, updated 2023-11-11T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/af77cf95-c469-471c-b6a0-946c685c4798 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule af77cf95-c469-471c-b6a0-946c685c4798, 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.