huntrule

Windows PsExec Service Installation via Service Control Manager (Event ID 7045)

Flags Service Control Manager Event ID 7045 when a PSEXESVC service is installed with ImagePath ending in \PSEXESVC.exe.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
Thomas Patzke (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2017-06-12
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 Service Control Manager events where a new service is created with the name PSEXESVC and the service executable path ends with \PSEXESVC.exe. Service creation followed by execution can indicate remote tooling being staged and run under the Windows service mechanism. It relies on System event telemetry for Event ID 7045, including the provider name, service name, and ImagePath details.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1569.002 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Executable Launched from Public Music Staging Directory (via process_creation)
Malicious Service Execution via PAExec
Suspicious RemCom Service Named Pipe for Lateral Movement (via pipe_created)
Malicious CACTUS Ransomware Deployment via TotalExec Script (via ps_script)
Malicious PsExec Service Binary Execution from Windows Directory via services.exe (via process_creation)
Malicious Remote Command Execution via smbexec Output Redirection Pattern
Malicious Lateral Movement via PsExec File-List Target
Malicious PsExec SYSTEM Interactive Shell Execution (via process_creation)
Suspicious PsExec Service Named Sliver
Windows PsExec Service Installation via Service Control Manager (Event ID 7045)
Pivot detection · T1569.002 · 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.