huntrule

Windows Process Command Line: Accidental Cobalt Strike Commands in cmd.exe

Flags cmd.exe executions whose command lines include known Cobalt Strike command terms.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
_pete_0, TheDFIRReport (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-05-06
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Execution

  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 matches Windows process creation events where cmd.exe is launched and the command line contains common Cobalt Strike command strings such as psinject, spawnas, make_token, remote-exec, rev2self, dcsync, logonpasswords, execute-assembly, and getsystem. Attackers and operators may leave these commands entered in the shell during testing or mis-execution, which can still reveal intent or tooling usage. The detection relies on process creation telemetry including OriginalFileName and the full CommandLine.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.003 — drag to rearrange
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Obfuscated Encoded PowerShell Payload Deployed via Process Execution (via process_creation)
Operator Bloopers Cobalt Strike Modules
Malicious KB Document Masqueraded Executable Spawned by Script Interpreter via RoKRAT Loader (via process_creation)
Malicious SCMBanker ClickFix Payload Fetch via Curl Piped to Cmd
Malicious Payload Assembly via MZ Header Prepend and copy Concatenation (via process_creation)
Windows Process Command Line: Accidental Cobalt Strike Commands in cmd.exe
Pivot detection · T1059.003 · 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.