Sigma rule: Potential LethalHTA Technique Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-dcbff8a8f5a5, updated 2023-02-07T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential LethalHTA Technique Execution
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Markus Neis
Date
2018-06-07
Modified
2023-02-07
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_mshta_lethalhta_technique.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects potential LethalHTA technique where the "mshta.exe" is spawned by an "svchost.exe" process

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\svchost.exe'
    Image|endswith: '\mshta.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1218.005

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_mshta_lethalhta_technique.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential LethalHTA Technique Execution" by Markus Neis (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_mshta_lethalhta_technique.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 LethalHTA Technique Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-dcbff8a8f5a5, updated 2023-02-07T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/ed5d72a6-f8f4-479d-ba79-02f6a80d7471 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule ed5d72a6-f8f4-479d-ba79-02f6a80d7471, 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.