huntrule

PowerShell Executed From AppData on Windows (Command Line Indicators)

Flags PowerShell command lines that include AppData paths (Local/Roaming), indicating possible user-profile script execution.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Jonhnathan Ribeiro, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-01-09
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Execution

  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 identifies process creations where the command line indicates PowerShell (powershell.exe/pwsh) and also references an AppData path. Attackers commonly use AppData to store and run scripts or payloads that blend into user-writable locations. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry, matching command-line substrings for PowerShell plus /c and AppData subpaths (Local\ and/or Roaming\).

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Metasploit Stager Delivery via mshta Remote HTA (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Download of Disguised Payload to ProgramData
Suspicious PowerShell WebClient Download of Executable Payload
Malicious Script Host Spawning PowerShell in Gootloader Chain
Suspicious PsExec Service Launching Encoded PowerShell Payload
Suspicious PowerShell Remote Script Execution via IEX DownloadString
Malicious SharePoint ToolShell Post-Exploitation via Encoded PowerShell (via process_creation)
Suspicious In-Memory PowerShell Execution from Web Server via Automation Assembly (via image_load)
Malicious Qilin Chrome Credential Harvesting Script Execution via IPScanner (via process_creation)
PowerShell Executed From AppData on Windows (Command Line Indicators)
Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 9 related

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