huntrule

Malicious Windows Event Log Clearing via Wevtutil

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-07-05
Updated
2026-08-28
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects wevtutil being used to clear the Security or System event logs, an anti-forensic action that destroys traces of intrusion activity. The Gentlemen ransomware clears these logs to hinder incident response. Detecting the log wipe exposes deliberate defense evasion during a ransomware attack.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685.005 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Windows Event Log Clearing via wevtutil (via process_creation)
Malicious USN Change Journal Deletion via Fsutil for Anti-Forensics
Suspicious Windows Event Log Clearing via wevtutil
Suspicious Windows Event Log Cleared via wevtutil during Ransomware Staging (via process_creation)
Suspicious Deletion of Terminal Server Client History via reg by UNC1549
Suspicious Windows Event Log Clearing via process_creation
Malicious Windows Event Log Clearing via wevtutil
Suspicious Event Log Clearing via Renamed Log Utility
Suspicious Event Log Clearing via PowerShell Invoke-Expression
Malicious Windows Event Log Clearing via Wevtutil
Pivot detection · T1685.005 · 9 related

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