Sigma rule: DarkGate - User Created Via Net.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-74e2708f349d, updated 2023-10-15T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
DarkGate - User Created Via Net.EXE
Status
test
Level
high
Author
X__Junior (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-08-27
Modified
2023-10-15
File
rules-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/DarkGate/proc_creation_win_malware_darkgate_net_user_creation.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects creation of local users via the net.exe command with the name of "DarkGate"

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

# /c net user /add SafeMode DarkGate0!
selection:
    Image|endswith:
        - '\net.exe'
        - '\net1.exe'
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'user'
        - 'add'
        - 'DarkGate'
        - 'SafeMode'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unlikely

Tags

  • attack.persistence
  • attack.t1136.001
  • detection.emerging-threats

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

  • Internal Research

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/2023/Malware/DarkGate/proc_creation_win_malware_darkgate_net_user_creation.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "DarkGate - User Created Via Net.EXE" by X__Junior (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/DarkGate/proc_creation_win_malware_darkgate_net_user_creation.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: DarkGate - User Created Via Net.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-74e2708f349d, updated 2023-10-15T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/bf906d7b-7070-4642-8383-e404cf26eba5 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule bf906d7b-7070-4642-8383-e404cf26eba5, 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.