Sigma rule: Whoami Utility Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-581ba0a309ad, updated 2025-10-20T00:00:00.000Z.

SigmaHQ marks this rule as deprecated.

Rule

Title
Whoami Utility Execution
Status
deprecated
Level
low
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2018-08-13
Modified
2025-10-20
File
deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_whoami_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of whoami, which is often used by attackers after exploitation / privilege escalation

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    - Image|endswith: '\whoami.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'whoami.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Admin activity
  • Scripts and administrative tools used in the monitored environment
  • Monitoring activity

Tags

  • attack.discovery
  • attack.t1033
  • car.2016-03-001

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/deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_whoami_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Whoami Utility Execution" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_whoami_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: Whoami Utility Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-581ba0a309ad, updated 2025-10-20T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/e28a5a99-da44-436d-b7a0-2afc20a5f413 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule e28a5a99-da44-436d-b7a0-2afc20a5f413, 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.