Sigma rule: Potential CobaltStrike Process Patterns

Rule

Title

Potential CobaltStrike Process Patterns

Status

test

Level

high

Author

Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Date

2021-07-27

Modified

2023-03-29

File

rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_hktl_cobaltstrike_process_patterns.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects potential process patterns related to Cobalt Strike beacon activity

Log source

product

windows

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_generic_1:
    CommandLine|endswith: 'cmd.exe /C whoami'
    ParentImage|startswith: 'C:\Temp\'
selection_generic_2:
    ParentImage|endswith:
        - '\runonce.exe'
        - '\dllhost.exe'
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'cmd.exe /c echo'
        - '> \\\\.\\pipe'
selection_conhost_1:
    ParentCommandLine|contains|all:
        - 'cmd.exe /C echo'
        - ' > \\\\.\\pipe'
    CommandLine|endswith: 'conhost.exe 0xffffffff -ForceV1'
selection_conhost_2:
    ParentCommandLine|endswith: '/C whoami'
    CommandLine|endswith: 'conhost.exe 0xffffffff -ForceV1'
condition: 1 of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Unknown

Tags

• attack.execution
• attack.t1059

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1059

References

• https://hausec.com/2021/07/26/cobalt-strike-and-tradecraft/
• https://thedfirreport.com/2021/08/29/cobalt-strike-a-defenders-guide/

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_hktl_cobaltstrike_process_patterns.yml