Windows: Recon command output piped to findstr.exe

Alerts on Windows command lines running recon commands whose output is filtered with findstr.exe.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2

Product: windows
Category: process_creation
Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2023-07-06
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
- T1057Process Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

Identifies Windows process creation where command-line arguments indicate recon-like commands whose output is piped to findstr.exe via inline command execution. This matters because attackers frequently filter or extract specific reconnaissance results using native tools to reduce noise and focus on targeted information. The detection relies on process creation telemetry capturing the full command line, looking for recon command patterns combined with “|*find”.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1057 — drag to rearrange

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Suspicious Security Software Discovery via tasklist and findstr (via process_creation)

Suspicious Security Process Enumeration via Tasklist And Findstr

Suspicious ESXi Virtual Machine Enumeration via esxcli Process List

Linux sysinfo Syscall for System Information Discovery

Windows Process Execution of PCHunter (PCHunter64.exe or PCHunter32.exe)

Windows PowerShell: Suspicious Process Discovery Using Get-Process

Windows WMIC Process Flag Execution Indicating Process Reconnaissance

Windows Process Discovery via tasklist Command Execution

Windows: Recon command output piped to findstr.exe

Pivot detection · T1057 · 9 related

Changelog

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-recon-command-output-piped-to-findstr-exe-ccb5742c

title: "Windows: Recon command output piped to findstr.exe"
id: c6037f63-1761-4457-b3d9-2aa7986d23cd
related:
  - id: fe63010f-8823-4864-a96b-a7b4a0f7b929
    type: derived
  - id: ccb5742c-c248-4982-8c5c-5571b9275ad3
    type: derived
status: test
description: Identifies Windows process creation where command-line arguments indicate recon-like commands whose output is piped to findstr.exe via inline command execution. This matters because attackers frequently filter or extract specific reconnaissance results using native tools to reduce noise and focus on targeted information. The detection relies on process creation telemetry capturing the full command line, looking for recon command patterns combined with “|*find”.
references:
  - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/02cb591f75064ffe1e0df9ac3ed5972a2e491c97/atomics/T1057/T1057.md#atomic-test-6---discover-specific-process---tasklist
  - https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/manage-engine-vulnerability-sector-alert-tlpclear.pdf
  - https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/22/d/spring4shell-exploited-to-deploy-cryptocurrency-miners.html
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_findstr_recon_pipe_output.yml
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), frack113, Huntrule Team
date: 2023-07-06
modified: 2025-10-08
tags:
  - attack.discovery
  - attack.t1057
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    CommandLine|contains:
      - ipconfig*|*find
      - net*|*find
      - netstat*|*find
      - ping*|*find
      - systeminfo*|*find
      - tasklist*|*find
      - whoami*|*find
  filter_optional_xampp:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
      - cmd.exe /c TASKLIST /V |
      - FIND /I
      - \xampp\
      - \catalina_start.bat
  condition: selection and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: medium
regression_tests_path: regression_data/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_findstr_recon_pipe_output/info.yml
license: DRL-1.1

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