huntrule

Windows Suspicious PROCEXP152.sys Creation in Local Temp Folder

Flags creation of PROCEXP152.sys in AppData\Local\Temp, excluding events from common Sysinternals executables.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Category
file_event
Author
xknow (@xknow_infosec), xorxes (@xor_xes) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-04-08
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

  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 creation of the PROCEXP152.sys file specifically when it is written under the local application-data temporary directory path and the filename ends with PROCEXP152.sys. Attackers may use the same driver filename associated with Sysinternals Process Explorer, or similar tooling that relies on PROCEXP152.sys to interact with process activity. The detection relies on Windows file event telemetry that includes the target filename path and the creating process image.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious ThrottleStop Driver Abuse for Defense Evasion in Ransomware Attacks
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Suspicious Security Software Uninstallation via WMIC Product Call Uninstall (Chaos Ransomware)
Suspicious Security Product Uninstall via wmic product call uninstall
Windows Suspicious PROCEXP152.sys Creation in Local Temp Folder
Pivot detection · T1685 · 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.