Sigma rule: Potential Suspicious Windows Feature Enabled - ProcCreation

Rule

Title

Potential Suspicious Windows Feature Enabled - ProcCreation

Status

test

Level

medium

Author

Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Date

2022-12-29

File

rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_powershell_enable_susp_windows_optional_feature.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects usage of the built-in PowerShell cmdlet "Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature" used as a Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool.
Similar to DISM.exe, this cmdlet is used to enumerate, install, uninstall, configure, and update features and packages in Windows images

Log source

product

windows

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_cmd:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature'
        - '-Online'
        - '-FeatureName'
selection_feature:
    # Add any insecure/unusual windows features that you don't use in your environment
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'TelnetServer'
        - 'Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64'
        - 'TFTP'
        - 'SMB1Protocol'
        - 'Client-ProjFS'
        - 'Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Legitimate usage of the features listed in the rule.

Tags

• attack.stealth

Related rules

• 55c925c1-7195-426b-a136-a9396800e29b (similar)

References

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/dism/enable-windowsoptionalfeature?view=windowsserver2022-ps
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/projfs/enabling-windows-projected-file-system
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-on-server

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_powershell_enable_susp_windows_optional_feature.yml