Sigma rule: Potential PowerShell Console History Access Attempt via History File

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-94e9ef0a8c45, updated 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential PowerShell Console History Access Attempt via History File
Status
experimental
Level
medium
Author
Luc Génaux
Date
2025-04-03
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_powershell_console_history_file_access.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects potential access attempts to the PowerShell console history directly via history file (ConsoleHost_history.txt).
This can give access to plaintext passwords used in PowerShell commands or used for general reconnaissance.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'ConsoleHost_history.txt'
        - '(Get-PSReadLineOption).HistorySavePath'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate access of the console history file is possible

Tags

  • attack.credential-access
  • attack.t1552.001

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_powershell_console_history_file_access.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential PowerShell Console History Access Attempt via History File" by Luc Génaux (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_powershell_console_history_file_access.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 PowerShell Console History Access Attempt via History File",
entity page, dataset version ref-94e9ef0a8c45, updated 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/f4ff7323-b5fc-4323-8b52-6b9408e15788 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule f4ff7323-b5fc-4323-8b52-6b9408e15788, 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.