huntrule

Windows msdt.exe execution using PCWDiagnostic.xml answer file

Alerts on msdt.exe launched with PCWDiagnostic.xml and an answer-file argument, excluding cases from pcwrun.exe.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-06-13
Updated
2026-07-30
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 process creation events where msdt.exe is launched with a command line referencing \WINDOWS\diagnostics\index\PCWDiagnostic.xml and includes an answer-file argument ( -af ). Attackers may use this execution pattern to mimic legitimate diagnostic tooling behavior while running arbitrary logic through the msdt utility. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry, including the spawned Image path, full CommandLine, and the parent process name to exclude the specific expected parent (pcwrun.exe).

Reporting behind it

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Windows msdt.exe execution using PCWDiagnostic.xml answer file
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Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.