Sigma rule: Windows Binary Executed From WSL

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-2157b1921d37, updated 2023-02-14T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Windows Binary Executed From WSL
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-02-14
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_wsl_windows_binaries_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of Windows binaries from within a WSL instance.
This could be used to masquerade parent-child relationships

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|re: '[a-zA-Z]:\\'
    CurrentDirectory|contains: '\\\\wsl.localhost' # Note: programs not supporting UNC paths (example: cmd.exe). Will default to another location
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1202

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

  • Internal Research

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_wsl_windows_binaries_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Windows Binary Executed From WSL" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_wsl_windows_binaries_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: Windows Binary Executed From WSL",
entity page, dataset version ref-2157b1921d37, updated 2023-02-14T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/ed825c86-c009-4014-b413-b76003e33d35 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule ed825c86-c009-4014-b413-b76003e33d35, 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.