Sigma rule: Windows Defender Exclusions Added - PowerShell

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-59a4a386e80a, updated 2022-11-26T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Windows Defender Exclusions Added - PowerShell
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Tim Rauch, Elastic (idea)
Date
2022-09-16
Modified
2022-11-26
File
rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_win_defender_exclusions_added.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects modifications to the Windows Defender configuration settings using PowerShell to add exclusions

Log source

product
windows
category
ps_script
definition
Requirements: Script Block Logging must be enabled

Detection

selection_args_exc:
    ScriptBlockText|contains:
        - ' -ExclusionPath '
        - ' -ExclusionExtension '
        - ' -ExclusionProcess '
        - ' -ExclusionIpAddress '
selection_args_pref:
    ScriptBlockText|contains:
        - 'Add-MpPreference '
        - 'Set-MpPreference '
condition: all of selection*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1685
  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1059

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/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_win_defender_exclusions_added.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Windows Defender Exclusions Added - PowerShell" by Tim Rauch, Elastic (idea) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_win_defender_exclusions_added.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: Windows Defender Exclusions Added - PowerShell",
entity page, dataset version ref-59a4a386e80a, updated 2022-11-26T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/c1344fa2-323b-4d2e-9176-84b4d4821c88 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule c1344fa2-323b-4d2e-9176-84b4d4821c88, 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.