Malicious Shadow Copy Deletion via WMI PowerShell

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Impact

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1047Windows Management Instrumentation
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
- T1490Inhibit System Recovery

What it detects

This rule detects PowerShell querying Win32_Shadowcopy through WMI and deleting the returned shadow copies, an alternative recovery-inhibition technique that avoids the vssadmin binary. It is associated with REvil ransomware-as-a-service affiliate operations seeking to destroy backups prior to encryption. Detecting the WMI-based variant closes a common evasion gap around shadow copy deletion.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1047 — drag to rearrange

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Windows process creation: CrackMapExec execution via characteristic command-line flags

Windows PowerShell Command Lines with WMI Process Creation and rundll32 Invocation

Windows Process Creation: Maze Ransomware Doc Dropper and Shadow Copy Deletion Indicators

Windows Process Creation: Suspicious Children Spawned by HTML Help (hh.exe)

Windows: Alert on Suspicious HH.EXE Process Execution

Malicious Shadow Copy Deletion via WMI PowerShell

Pivot detection · T1047 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

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