Suspicious PHP Stream Wrapper in Query-String CLI Argument

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Category
webserver
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-08-24
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access → Execution
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Persistence

  4. Priv Esc

  5. Defense Evasion

  6. Cred Access

  7. Discovery

  8. Lateral Movement

  9. Collection

  10. C2

  11. Exfiltration

  12. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects HTTP requests combining injected CLI option syntax in the query string with remote PHP stream wrappers such as ftp, phar, or php filter, matching the Craft CMS argv injection to remote code execution chain documented by Assetnote. Attackers use these wrappers to load remote templates or configuration and pivot to code execution. The pairing of a leading double-dash option with a wrapper scheme strongly indicates exploitation rather than benign parameters.

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Suspicious PHP Stream Wrapper in Query-String CLI Argument
Pivot detection · T1059 · 9 related

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