Windows: Detect Rclone command execution with exfiltration-oriented flags
Identifies likely rclone.exe exfiltration activity on Windows by matching command-line flags and rclone executable characteristics.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Bhabesh Raj, Sittikorn S, Aaron Greetham (@beardofbinary) - NCC Group (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2021-05-10
- Updated
- 2026-07-30
ATT&CK techniques
ExfiltrationRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule flags Windows process creation events where the command line and executable name match Rclone usage patterns commonly associated with file exfiltration. It looks for rclone.exe execution and command-line arguments that include configuration, remote targets, and transfer options such as auto-confirm, multi-thread streaming, and TLS certificate checking disabled. The detection relies on telemetry from process creation that includes the process image path/description and full command-line content.
Reporting behind it
- research.nccgroup.comhttps://research.nccgroup.com/2021/05/27/detecting-rclone-an-effective-tool-for-exfiltration/
- thedfirreport.comhttps://thedfirreport.com/2021/03/29/sodinokibi-aka-revil-ransomware
- us-cert.cisa.govhttps://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-126a
- labs.sentinelone.comhttps://labs.sentinelone.com/egregor-raas-continues-the-chaos-with-cobalt-strike-and-rclone
- splunk.comhttps://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/security/darkside-ransomware-splunk-threat-update-and-detections.html
- github.comhttps://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pua_rclone_execution.yml
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
title: "Windows: Detect Rclone command execution with exfiltration-oriented flags"
id: 1deb7f7f-5be8-4f11-8463-dcabf873e164
related:
- id: a0d63692-a531-4912-ad39-4393325b2a9c
type: obsolete
- id: cb7286ba-f207-44ab-b9e6-760d82b84253
type: obsolete
- id: e37db05d-d1f9-49c8-b464-cee1a4b11638
type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags Windows process creation events where the command line and executable name match Rclone usage patterns commonly associated with file exfiltration. It looks for rclone.exe execution and command-line arguments that include configuration, remote targets, and transfer options such as auto-confirm, multi-thread streaming, and TLS certificate checking disabled. The detection relies on telemetry from process creation that includes the process image path/description and full command-line content.
references:
- https://research.nccgroup.com/2021/05/27/detecting-rclone-an-effective-tool-for-exfiltration/
- https://thedfirreport.com/2021/03/29/sodinokibi-aka-revil-ransomware
- https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/analysis-reports/ar21-126a
- https://labs.sentinelone.com/egregor-raas-continues-the-chaos-with-cobalt-strike-and-rclone
- https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/security/darkside-ransomware-splunk-threat-update-and-detections.html
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pua_rclone_execution.yml
author: Bhabesh Raj, Sittikorn S, Aaron Greetham (@beardofbinary) - NCC Group, Huntrule Team
date: 2021-05-10
modified: 2023-03-05
tags:
- attack.exfiltration
- attack.t1567.002
logsource:
product: windows
category: process_creation
detection:
selection_specific_options:
CommandLine|contains|all:
- "--config "
- "--no-check-certificate "
- " copy "
selection_rclone_img:
- Image|endswith: \rclone.exe
- Description: Rsync for cloud storage
selection_rclone_cli:
CommandLine|contains:
- pass
- user
- copy
- sync
- config
- lsd
- remote
- ls
- mega
- pcloud
- ftp
- ignore-existing
- auto-confirm
- transfers
- multi-thread-streams
- "no-check-certificate "
condition: selection_specific_options or all of selection_rclone_*
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1