Sigma rule: COLDSTEEL RAT Anonymous User Process Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-dfbdd6a19065, updated 2023-04-30T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
COLDSTEEL RAT Anonymous User Process Execution
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-04-30
File
rules-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/COLDSTEEL/proc_creation_win_malware_coldsteel_anonymous_process.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the creation of a process executing as user called "ANONYMOUS" seen used by the "MileStone2016" variant of COLDSTEEL

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|contains:
        - '\Windows\System32\'
        - '\AppData\'
    User|contains: 'ANONYMOUS'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.persistence
  • detection.emerging-threats
  • 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-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/COLDSTEEL/proc_creation_win_malware_coldsteel_anonymous_process.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "COLDSTEEL RAT Anonymous User Process Execution" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Malware/COLDSTEEL/proc_creation_win_malware_coldsteel_anonymous_process.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: COLDSTEEL RAT Anonymous User Process Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-dfbdd6a19065, updated 2023-04-30T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/e01b6eb5-1eb4-4465-a165-85d40d874add (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule e01b6eb5-1eb4-4465-a165-85d40d874add, 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.