Sigma rule: Replace Desktop Wallpaper by Powershell

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-f274fc2f7463, updated 2021-12-26T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Replace Desktop Wallpaper by Powershell
Status
test
Level
low
Author
frack113
Date
2021-12-26
File
rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_susp_wallpaper.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

An adversary may deface systems internal to an organization in an attempt to intimidate or mislead users.
This may take the form of modifications to internal websites, or directly to user systems with the replacement of the desktop wallpaper

Log source

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

Detection

selection_1:
    ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
        - 'Get-ItemProperty'
        - 'Registry::'
        - 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\'
        - 'WallPaper'
selection_2:
    ScriptBlockText|contains: SystemParametersInfo(20,0,*,3)
condition: 1 of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.impact
  • attack.t1491.001

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

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_susp_wallpaper.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Replace Desktop Wallpaper by Powershell" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_susp_wallpaper.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: Replace Desktop Wallpaper by Powershell",
entity page, dataset version ref-f274fc2f7463, updated 2021-12-26T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/c5ac6a1e-9407-45f5-a0ce-ca9a0806a287 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule c5ac6a1e-9407-45f5-a0ce-ca9a0806a287, 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.