Windows: Launch-VsDevShell.ps1 Proxy Execution via Process Command Line
Detects command-line usage of Launch-VsDevShell.ps1 with Visual Studio path flags on Windows.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2022-08-19
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Defense EvasionRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule flags process executions where the command line contains 'Launch-VsDevShell.ps1' and also includes one or more Visual Studio path argument strings such as 'VsWherePath ' or 'VsInstallationPath '. Attackers can leverage this Microsoft signed script as a proxy to prepare an environment and run subsequent commands while blending in with legitimate developer tooling. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry with the full command line to match these script and parameter substrings.
Reporting behind it
Changelog
v2- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No 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.
title: "Windows: Launch-VsDevShell.ps1 Proxy Execution via Process Command Line"
id: d9ba682a-ae7e-4855-89e6-4f600e5d099f
status: test
description: This rule flags process executions where the command line contains 'Launch-VsDevShell.ps1' and also includes one or more Visual Studio path argument strings such as 'VsWherePath ' or 'VsInstallationPath '. Attackers can leverage this Microsoft signed script as a proxy to prepare an environment and run subsequent commands while blending in with legitimate developer tooling. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry with the full command line to match these script and parameter substrings.
references:
- https://twitter.com/nas_bench/status/1535981653239255040
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_lolbin_launch_vsdevshell.yml
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2022-08-19
tags:
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1216.001
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_script:
CommandLine|contains: Launch-VsDevShell.ps1
selection_flags:
CommandLine|contains:
- "VsWherePath "
- "VsInstallationPath "
condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
- Legitimate usage of the script by a developer
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: 45d3a03d-f441-458c-8883-df101a3bb146
type: derived