Suspicious WMI Query Against Windows Defender Namespace via wmic (via process_creation)

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-16
Updated
2026-09-16

ATT&CK techniques

Execution
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Persistence

  5. Priv Esc

  6. Defense Evasion

  7. Cred Access

  8. Discovery

  9. Lateral Movement

  10. Collection

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects wmic querying the Windows Defender WMI namespace, used by Sandworm to inspect and manipulate antivirus exclusions during the KMS campaign. Direct wmic access to the Defender namespace is uncommon in normal operations. It often precedes tampering with protection settings.

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Suspicious WMI Query Against Windows Defender Namespace via wmic (via process_creation)
Pivot detection · T1047 · 9 related

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