Sigma rule: NewActiveScriptEventConsumer Creation Attempt via Wmic.EXE

Rule

Title

NewActiveScriptEventConsumer Creation Attempt via Wmic.EXE

Status

test

Level

high

Author

Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)

Date

2021-06-25

Modified

2026-06-19

File

rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_wmic_eventconsumer_creation.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the attempt to create an ActiveScriptEventConsumer via WMIC.EXE.
An ActiveScriptEventConsumer is a built-in Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) class that
automatically executes a predefined script (in VBScript or JScript) whenever a specific system event occurs.
Adversaries often abuse ActiveScriptEventConsumer to maintain persistence on a compromised host by executing a malicious script whenever a specific event occurs.

Log source

product

windows

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - OriginalFileName: 'wmic.exe'
    - Image|endswith: '\WMIC.exe'
selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'ActiveScriptEventConsumer'
        - ' CREATE '
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Legitimate software creating script event consumers

Tags

• attack.privilege-escalation
• attack.persistence
• attack.t1546.003

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1546.003

References

• https://twitter.com/johnlatwc/status/1408062131321270282?s=12
• https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/global/en/current-threats/pdfs/wp-windows-management-instrumentation.pdf

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_wmic_eventconsumer_creation.yml