PowerShell Script Obfuscation Triggered by Use of clip.exe and Clipboard Invocation

Flags PowerShell Script Block Logging containing clip.exe/clipboard chaining and clipboard-driven execution markers.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2

Product: windows
Category: ps_script
Author: Nikita Nazarov, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.001PowerShell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
- T1027Obfuscated Files or Information
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags PowerShell script block content that includes an execution sequence referencing clip-related behavior and a clipboard-related invocation (including Clipboard or an Invoke-Clipboard-like pattern). Attackers may use clip.exe and clipboard workflows to stage or conceal execution artifacts, making payload delivery less obvious in normal command inspection. The detection relies on PowerShell Script Block Logging telemetry that captures ScriptBlockText patterns matching the specified clip and clipboard-related strings.

Reporting behind it

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Obfuscated Encoded PowerShell Payload Deployed - PowerShell (via powershell)

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PowerShell Script Obfuscation Triggered by Use of clip.exe and Clipboard Invocation

Pivot detection · T1027 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

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

powershell-obfuscation-via-clip-exe-and-clipboard-data-execution-db92dd33

title: PowerShell Script Obfuscation Triggered by Use of clip.exe and Clipboard Invocation
id: fea54bf8-b774-4fc6-86ef-c2ba615273bd
status: test
description: This rule flags PowerShell script block content that includes an execution sequence referencing clip-related behavior and a clipboard-related invocation (including Clipboard or an Invoke-Clipboard-like pattern). Attackers may use clip.exe and clipboard workflows to stage or conceal execution artifacts, making payload delivery less obvious in normal command inspection. The detection relies on PowerShell Script Block Logging telemetry that captures ScriptBlockText patterns matching the specified clip and clipboard-related strings.
references:
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/issues/1009
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_invoke_obfuscation_via_use_clip.yml
author: Nikita Nazarov, oscd.community, Huntrule Team
date: 2020-10-09
modified: 2024-04-15
tags:
  - attack.stealth
  - attack.t1027
  - attack.execution
  - attack.t1059.001
logsource:
  product: windows
  category: ps_script
  definition: "Requirements: Script Block Logging must be enabled"
detection:
  selection_4104:
    ScriptBlockText|re: (?i)echo.*clip.*&&.*(Clipboard|i`?n`?v`?o`?k`?e`?)
  condition: selection_4104
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: db92dd33-a3ad-49cf-8c2c-608c3e30ace0
    type: derived

Convert

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