huntrule

Windows Process Execution Triggered from WebDAV LNK Paths

Alerts on explorer.exe launching cmd/cscript/mshta/powershell/wscript/pwsh when the command line references a WebDAV \DavWWWRoot\ LNK path.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Micah Babinski (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2023-08-21
Updated
2026-07-30
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 flags Windows process executions where the parent is explorer.exe and the spawned binary is a command interpreter or script host, with the command line containing a WebDAV directory path (\DavWWWRoot\). WebDAV-published shortcuts can be abused to lead users or processes into launching attacker-controlled content and commands. The detection relies on process creation telemetry, specifically parent image, process image, and the command line string.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Script Interpreter Spawned by Explorer via ClickFix Run Dialog (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via ClickFix Fake CAPTCHA (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell EncodedCommand Spawned From Command Shell via Process Creation
Suspicious Script Download via Curl and PowerShell by Dohdoor
Malicious Mass Hyper-V Virtual Machine Shutdown via PowerShell by Kraken Ransomware
Suspicious PowerShell WebClient DownloadFile of Archive Payload (UAT-7237)
Suspicious SharePoint Worker Process Spawning Command Interpreter via ToolShell
Malicious Emmenhtal JavaScript Loader Spawning Encoded PowerShell
Suspicious Python Interpreter Launching Encoded PowerShell via subprocess
Windows Process Execution Triggered from WebDAV LNK Paths
Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 9 related

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