huntrule

Windows: Indirect execution of pcwrun.exe using path traversal-style command line content

Detects pcwrun.exe spawning with '../' in the command line, indicating potential indirect execution abuse.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-06-13
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 identifies process creation where the executable name ends with pcwrun.exe and the command line contains '../', indicating indirect or crafted execution behavior. Attackers may abuse Program Compatibility Assistant components to execute actions through unexpected command-line arguments. Telemetry relies on Windows process creation events capturing the image path and full command line.

Reporting behind it

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Windows: Indirect execution of pcwrun.exe using path traversal-style command line content
Pivot detection · T1218 · 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.