Sigma rule: Curl.EXE Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-ab4e059a4508, updated 2023-02-21T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Curl.EXE Execution
Status
test
Level
low
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-07-05
Modified
2023-02-21
File
rules-threat-hunting/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_curl_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects a curl process start on Windows, which could indicates a file download from a remote location or a simple web request to a remote server

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    - Image|endswith: '\curl.exe'
    - Product: 'The curl executable'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Scripts created by developers and admins
  • Administrative activity

Tags

  • attack.command-and-control
  • attack.t1105
  • detection.threat-hunting

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-threat-hunting/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_curl_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Curl.EXE Execution" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-threat-hunting/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_curl_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: Curl.EXE Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-ab4e059a4508, updated 2023-02-21T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/bbeaed61-1990-4773-bf57-b81dbad7db2d (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule bbeaed61-1990-4773-bf57-b81dbad7db2d, 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.