Sigma rule: Potential MsiExec Masquerading

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-92fbdce35eb2, updated 2023-02-21T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential MsiExec Masquerading
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2019-11-14
Modified
2023-02-21
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_msiexec_masquerading.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of msiexec.exe from an uncommon directory

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    - Image|endswith: '\msiexec.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: '\msiexec.exe'
filter:
    Image|startswith:
        - 'C:\Windows\System32\'
        - 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64\'
        - 'C:\Windows\WinSxS\'
condition: selection and not filter

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1036.005

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_msiexec_masquerading.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential MsiExec Masquerading" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_msiexec_masquerading.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: Potential MsiExec Masquerading",
entity page, dataset version ref-92fbdce35eb2, updated 2023-02-21T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/e22a6eb2-f8a5-44b5-8b44-a2dbd47b1144 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule e22a6eb2-f8a5-44b5-8b44-a2dbd47b1144, 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.