Sigma rule: Copy From VolumeShadowCopy Via Cmd.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-4863842286a3, updated 2023-03-07T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Copy From VolumeShadowCopy Via Cmd.EXE
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Max Altgelt (Nextron Systems), Tobias Michalski (Nextron Systems)
Date
2021-08-09
Modified
2023-03-07
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cmd_shadowcopy_access.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of the builtin "copy" command that targets a shadow copy (sometimes used to copy registry hives that are in use)

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    # cmd /c copy \\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy1\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM\
    # There is an additional "\" to escape the special "?"
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'copy '
        - '\\\\\?\\GLOBALROOT\\Device\\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Backup scenarios using the commandline

Tags

  • attack.impact
  • attack.t1490

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/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cmd_shadowcopy_access.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Copy From VolumeShadowCopy Via Cmd.EXE" by Max Altgelt (Nextron Systems), Tobias Michalski (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cmd_shadowcopy_access.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: Copy From VolumeShadowCopy Via Cmd.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-4863842286a3, updated 2023-03-07T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/c73124a7-3e89-44a3-bdc1-25fe4df754b1 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule c73124a7-3e89-44a3-bdc1-25fe4df754b1, 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.