Possible Domain Trust Enumeration Through Dsquery (via process_creation)

This rule detects execution of "dsquery.exe" for domain trust discovery

SigmamediumWindowsv1
sigma
title: Possible Domain Trust Enumeration Through Dsquery (via process_creation)
id: 058d04b0-3e4f-52e9-9623-2d6bf69d849e
status: stable
description: This rule detects execution of "dsquery.exe" for domain trust discovery
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1482/
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1482/T1482.md
    - https://posts.specterops.io/an-introduction-to-manual-active-directory-querying-with-dsquery-and-ldapsearch-84943c13d7eb?gi=41b97a644843
author: Huntrule Team
date: 2026-07-28
tags:
    - attack.discovery
    - attack.t1482
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\dsquery.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'dsquery.exe'
    selection_cli:
        CommandLine|contains: 'trustedDomain'
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium
regression_tests_path: regression_data/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_dsquery_domain_trust_discovery/info.yml
simulation:
    - type: atomic-red-team
      name: Windows - Discover domain trusts with dsquery
      technique: T1482
      atomic_guid: 4700a710-c821-4e17-a3ec-9e4c81d6845f

Known false positives

  • Unknown

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