Sigma rule: Shell Process Spawned by Java.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-783c20811938, updated 2024-01-18T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Shell Process Spawned by Java.EXE
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Andreas Hunkeler (@Karneades), Nasreddine Bencherchali
Date
2021-12-17
Modified
2024-01-18
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_java_susp_child_process_2.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects shell spawned from Java host process, which could be a sign of exploitation (e.g. log4j exploitation)

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\java.exe'
    Image|endswith:
        - '\bash.exe'
        - '\cmd.exe'
        - '\powershell.exe'
        - '\pwsh.exe'
filter_main_build:
    ParentImage|contains: 'build'  # excluding CI build agents
    CommandLine|contains: 'build'  # excluding CI build agents
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate calls to system binaries
  • Company specific internal usage

Tags

  • attack.initial-access
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.privilege-escalation

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/process_creation/proc_creation_win_java_susp_child_process_2.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Shell Process Spawned by Java.EXE" by Andreas Hunkeler (@Karneades), Nasreddine Bencherchali (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_java_susp_child_process_2.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: Shell Process Spawned by Java.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-783c20811938, updated 2024-01-18T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/dff1e1cc-d3fd-47c8-bfc2-aeb878a754c0 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule dff1e1cc-d3fd-47c8-bfc2-aeb878a754c0, 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.