huntrule

Windows Named Pipe Creation Matching Cobalt Strike Malleable C2 Profile Patterns

Alerts on Windows named pipe creation with PipeName patterns consistent with Cobalt Strike Malleable C2 behavior.

FreeReviewedSigma · Critical · v2
Product
windows
Category
pipe_created
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2021-07-30
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → 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 creation of Windows named pipes whose PipeName matches a set of regex patterns associated with Cobalt Strike malleable C2 profile naming. Attackers may use named pipes to enable stealthy inter-process or network-like command and control over local or relayed channels. Detection relies on telemetry that records named pipe creation events and the full PipeName value, such as Sysmon named pipe event logging.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious CRAT Injection Named Pipe ChromeUpdatePipe (via pipe_created)
AsyncRAT Injector libPK.dll Written to Public Folder (via file_event)
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Windows Named Pipe Creation Matching Cobalt Strike Malleable C2 Profile Patterns
Pivot detection · T1055 · 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.