PowerShell Access to LSASS on Windows Suggesting Credential Dumping

Alerts when PowerShell (powershell.exe/pwsh.exe) accesses lsass.exe, indicating potential credential dumping.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v5

Product: windows
Category: process_access
Author: oscd.community, Natalia Shornikova (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Cred Access

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
- T1003.001LSASS Memory
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags Windows PowerShell or pwsh processes that request access to the LSASS process. Access to lsass.exe is commonly associated with credential dumping attempts, making this behavior a useful indicator for investigation. It relies on process access telemetry that records SourceImage and TargetImage relationships.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1003.001 — drag to rearrange

Malicious Mimikatz Credential Dumping via Command Line Arguments

Malicious Credential Extraction via Volatility Memory Analysis (via process_creation)

Suspicious Physical Memory Acquisition via WinPmem (via process_creation)

Malicious LSASS Credential Dump via Rundll32 Comsvcs MiniDump via Process Creation (via process_creation)

Suspicious LSASS Credential Access via PowerShell (via process_creation)

Suspicious LSASS Memory Dump via Task Manager After Ivanti Exploitation

Suspicious ProcDump LSASS Memory Dump via process_creation

Malicious Mimikatz Credential Dump Log File Creation (via file_event)

Malicious WDigest UseLogonCredential Enabled for Cleartext Credential Theft (via registry_set)

PowerShell Access to LSASS on Windows Suggesting Credential Dumping

Pivot detection · T1003.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v5
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v4
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v3
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
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.

windows-powershell-process-accessing-lsass-exe-for-possible-credential-dumping-0f920ebe

title: PowerShell Access to LSASS on Windows Suggesting Credential Dumping
id: 5427af29-375e-4548-835f-56ee520f2573
related:
  - id: 3f07b9d1-2082-4c56-9277-613a621983cc
    type: obsolete
  - id: fb656378-f909-47c1-8747-278bf09f4f4f
    type: similar
  - id: 0f920ebe-7aea-4c54-b202-9aa0c609cfe5
    type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags Windows PowerShell or pwsh processes that request access to the LSASS process. Access to lsass.exe is commonly associated with credential dumping attempts, making this behavior a useful indicator for investigation. It relies on process access telemetry that records SourceImage and TargetImage relationships.
references:
  - https://speakerdeck.com/heirhabarov/hunting-for-powershell-abuse
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-threat-hunting/windows/process_access/proc_access_win_lsass_powershell_access.yml
author: oscd.community, Natalia Shornikova, Huntrule Team
date: 2020-10-06
modified: 2023-11-28
tags:
  - attack.credential-access
  - attack.t1003.001
  - detection.threat-hunting
logsource:
  product: windows
  category: process_access
detection:
  selection:
    SourceImage|endswith:
      - \powershell.exe
      - \pwsh.exe
    TargetImage|endswith: \lsass.exe
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1

Convert

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