Sigma rule: Suspicious PsExec Execution - Zeek

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-3182b40bb851, updated 2022-12-27T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Suspicious PsExec Execution - Zeek
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Samir Bousseaden, @neu5ron, Tim Shelton
Date
2020-04-02
Modified
2022-12-27
File
rules/network/zeek/zeek_smb_converted_win_susp_psexec.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

detects execution of psexec or paexec with renamed service name, this rule helps to filter out the noise if psexec is used for legit purposes or if attacker uses a different psexec client other than sysinternal one

Log source

product
zeek
service
smb_files

Detection

selection:
    path|contains|all:
        - '\\'
        - '\IPC$'
    name|endswith:
        - '-stdin'
        - '-stdout'
        - '-stderr'
filter:
    name|startswith: 'PSEXESVC'
condition: selection and not filter

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.lateral-movement
  • attack.t1021.002

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

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/network/zeek/zeek_smb_converted_win_susp_psexec.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Suspicious PsExec Execution - Zeek" by Samir Bousseaden, @neu5ron, Tim Shelton (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/network/zeek/zeek_smb_converted_win_susp_psexec.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: Suspicious PsExec Execution - Zeek",
entity page, dataset version ref-3182b40bb851, updated 2022-12-27T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/f1b3a22a-45e6-4004-afb5-4291f9c21166 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule f1b3a22a-45e6-4004-afb5-4291f9c21166, 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.