huntrule

PowerShell Get-ADUser User Discovery and Data Export via File Output

Detects PowerShell Get-ADUser-based user enumeration combined with exporting results to files or output streams.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Category
ps_script
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-11-17
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

  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 flags PowerShell script block activity that invokes the Get-ADUser cmdlet with a broad filter and then exports results to a file using operators such as redirection, Select with output piping, Out-File, Set-Content, or Add-Content. Attackers commonly use directory queries to enumerate targets and then store the output for later use, supporting discovery and subsequent actions. Detection relies on Script Block Logging telemetry capturing the PowerShell code text patterns matching Get-ADUser usage and file-write/output constructs.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1033 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Whoami Discovery Spawned by Windows Script Host via Process Creation (via process_creation)
Suspicious Localized Administrator Account and Group Enumeration After Citrix Bleed Exploitation
Malicious Recon Output Staged in Qlik Sense Fonts Directory by Cactus Ransomware
Suspicious Host Reconnaissance Command Chain via cmd
Malicious Child Process Spawned From n8n Node Process
Suspicious Credential Enumeration via cmdkey List
Suspicious IIS Worker Process Spawning Whoami Reconnaissance
Suspicious Whoami Execution With Output Redirected to a File (via process_creation)
Possible Logged-On Session Discovery via Quser or Qwinsta (via process_creation)
PowerShell Get-ADUser User Discovery and Data Export via File Output
Pivot detection · T1033 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. 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.