Sigma rule: Sysinternals Tools AppX Versions Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-8ea224a9ec02, updated 2023-09-12T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Sysinternals Tools AppX Versions Execution
Status
test
Level
low
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-01-16
Modified
2023-09-12
File
rules/windows/builtin/appmodel_runtime/win_appmodel_runtime_sysinternals_tools_appx_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects execution of Sysinternals tools via an AppX package.
Attackers could install the Sysinternals Suite to get access to tools such as psexec and procdump to avoid detection based on System paths.

Log source

product
windows
service
appmodel-runtime

Detection

selection:
    EventID: 201
    ImageName:
        - 'procdump.exe'
        - 'psloglist.exe'
        - 'psexec.exe'
        - 'livekd.exe'
        - 'ADExplorer.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate usage of sysinternals applications from the Windows Store will trigger this. Apply exclusions as needed.

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth

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/builtin/appmodel_runtime/win_appmodel_runtime_sysinternals_tools_appx_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Sysinternals Tools AppX Versions Execution" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/appmodel_runtime/win_appmodel_runtime_sysinternals_tools_appx_execution.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: Sysinternals Tools AppX Versions Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-8ea224a9ec02, updated 2023-09-12T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/d29a20b2-be4b-4827-81f2-3d8a59eab5fc (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule d29a20b2-be4b-4827-81f2-3d8a59eab5fc, 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.