Sigma rule: Pingback Backdoor Activity

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-4bafd4aafa2f, updated 2023-02-17T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Pingback Backdoor Activity
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Bhabesh Raj
Date
2021-05-05
Modified
2023-02-17
File
rules-emerging-threats/2021/Malware/Pingback/proc_creation_win_malware_pingback_backdoor.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the use of Pingback backdoor that creates ICMP tunnel for C2 as described in the trustwave report

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\updata.exe'
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'config'
        - 'msdtc'
        - 'start'
        - 'auto'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unlikely

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1574.001
  • detection.emerging-threats

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-emerging-threats/2021/Malware/Pingback/proc_creation_win_malware_pingback_backdoor.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Pingback Backdoor Activity" by Bhabesh Raj (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2021/Malware/Pingback/proc_creation_win_malware_pingback_backdoor.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: Pingback Backdoor Activity",
entity page, dataset version ref-4bafd4aafa2f, updated 2023-02-17T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/b2400ffb-7680-47c0-b08a-098a7de7e7a9 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule b2400ffb-7680-47c0-b08a-098a7de7e7a9, 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.