huntrule

Windows: Detect sc.exe Service Config binPath Changes to Suspicious Commands/Paths

Alerts when sc.exe updates a service binPath to point at suspicious commands or commonly abused directories.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Victor Sergeev, oscd.community, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-10-21
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

  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 Windows process creation events where sc.exe is used to modify a service configuration containing both "config" and "binPath", with the command line referencing a suspicious script execution tool or executable path. Service path changes matter because they can redirect how a service runs on startup, enabling persistence or privilege escalation. It relies on process creation telemetry capturing the image path (sc.exe) and the full command line text.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1543.003 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Service Created With Binary Path in ProgramData
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Malicious AuKill EDR Killer Kernel Driver Load via Process Explorer Driver (via image_load)
Suspicious TermService ServiceDll Hijack via Registry (via registry_set)
Suspicious Service Creation Named RDP-Controller via sc.exe (via process_creation)
Suspicious Service or Task Named windowsinspectionupdate (via process_creation)
Malicious Service Persistence via sc.exe Creating msdnetsvc
Suspicious Stately Taurus Masqueraded Service and Task Persistence via process_creation
Malicious Vulnerable Driver Load for EDR Evasion (via image_load)
Windows: Detect sc.exe Service Config binPath Changes to Suspicious Commands/Paths
Pivot detection · T1543.003 · 9 related

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