huntrule

Windows: Explorer factory invocation causing process tree break

Alerts on process creation command lines showing explorer.exe factory and /root usage consistent with an explorer-based process tree break.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), @gott_cyber (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-06-29
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

  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 creations where the command line includes explorer.exe along with a specific /factory CLSID pattern and a /root context. This combination is indicative of a technique that can break or alter the normal process tree by spawning a new explorer instance rather than a direct child of the original parent. The detection relies on process creation telemetry with CommandLine fields to match the explorer-related markers in the invoked command line.

Reporting behind it

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Windows: Explorer factory invocation causing process tree break
Pivot detection · T1036 · 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.