huntrule

Windows New Service Creation via sc.exe

Flags sc.exe service creation commands containing create and binPath on Windows, excluding Dropbox-launched cases.

FreeReviewedSigma · Low · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Timur Zinniatullin, Daniil Yugoslavskiy, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2023-02-20
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 identifies the creation of a new Windows service executed with the sc.exe utility by matching process creation where the command line includes both the create operation and the binPath parameter. Service creation is a key mechanism for persistence and privilege impact, making misuse stand out during endpoint activity monitoring. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry, specifically the sc.exe process name/path and its command-line arguments, while excluding events spawned from Dropbox-related parent processes.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1543.003 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Service Created With Binary Path in ProgramData
Malicious Abyss Locker wmihelper SSH Backdoor Deployment (via file_event)
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 New Service Creation via sc.exe
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.