huntrule

Windows Process Execution from Unusual System Locations

Alerts on Windows process launches where the executable path is in or contains unusual directories like RECYCLER or SystemVolumeInformation.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
juju4, Jonhnathan Ribeiro, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-01-16
Updated
2026-07-30
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 flags Windows process creations where the executable path appears to start in or under uncommon directories such as C:\Windows\Tasks\ or C:\Windows\debug\, and where it contains C:\\RECYCLER\\ or C:\\SystemVolumeInformation\\. Attackers often use atypical locations to evade casual inspection and blend execution into less-monitored areas. The detection relies on process creation telemetry, specifically the Image path field, checking both prefix patterns and substring matches.

Reporting behind it

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Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.