Sigma rule: Suspicious Desktopimgdownldr Target File

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-68346873c05a, updated 2022-06-02T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Suspicious Desktopimgdownldr Target File
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2020-07-03
Modified
2022-06-02
File
rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_susp_desktopimgdownldr_file.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects a suspicious Microsoft desktopimgdownldr file creation that stores a file to a suspicious location or contains a file with a suspicious extension

Log source

product
windows
category
file_event

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: '\svchost.exe'
    TargetFilename|contains: '\Personalization\LockScreenImage\'
filter1:
    TargetFilename|contains: 'C:\Windows\'
filter2:
    TargetFilename|contains:
        - '.jpg'
        - '.jpeg'
        - '.png'
condition: selection and not filter1 and not filter2

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • False positives depend on scripts and administrative tools used in the monitored environment

Tags

  • attack.command-and-control
  • attack.t1105

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/file/file_event/file_event_win_susp_desktopimgdownldr_file.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Suspicious Desktopimgdownldr Target File" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_susp_desktopimgdownldr_file.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 Desktopimgdownldr Target File",
entity page, dataset version ref-68346873c05a, updated 2022-06-02T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/fc4f4817-0c53-4683-a4ee-b17a64bc1039 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule fc4f4817-0c53-4683-a4ee-b17a64bc1039, 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.