Sigma rule: Potential Arbitrary File Download Via Cmdl32.EXE
A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-ec701fb2e63a, updated 2024-04-22T00:00:00.000Z.
Rule
- Title
- Potential Arbitrary File Download Via Cmdl32.EXE
- Status
- test
- Level
- medium
- Author
- frack113
- Date
- 2021-11-03
- Modified
- 2024-04-22
- File
- rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cmdl32_arbitrary_file_download.yml
- Commit
- ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84
Detects execution of Cmdl32 with the "/vpn" and "/lan" flags.
Attackers can abuse this utility in order to download arbitrary files via a configuration file.
Inspect the location and the content of the file passed as an argument in order to determine if it is suspicious.
Log source
- product
- windows
- category
- process_creation
Detection
selection_img:
- Image|endswith: '\cmdl32.exe'
- OriginalFileName: CMDL32.EXE
selection_cli:
CommandLine|contains|all:
- '/vpn'
- '/lan'
condition: all of selection_*False positives (as the rule lists them)
- Unknown
Tags
- attack.execution
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1218
- attack.t1202
MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names
References
- https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/Binaries/Cmdl32/
- https://twitter.com/SwiftOnSecurity/status/1455897435063074824
- https://github.com/LOLBAS-Project/LOLBAS/pull/151
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_cmdl32_arbitrary_file_download.yml
Sources and licences
SigmaHQ
"Potential Arbitrary File Download Via Cmdl32.EXE" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_cmdl32_arbitrary_file_download.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License
Cite this page
Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Potential Arbitrary File Download Via Cmdl32.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-ec701fb2e63a, updated 2024-04-22T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/f37aba28-a9e6-4045-882c-d5004043b337 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule f37aba28-a9e6-4045-882c-d5004043b337, 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.