huntrule

Windows Registry RunMRU PowerShell or WMIC Execution Command Indicators

Alerts on RunMRU registry entries showing PowerShell (encoding/invocation) or WMIC shadowcopy/process call usage.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
Ahmed Farouk, Nasreddine Bencherchali (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2024-11-01
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 registry changes under the Explorer RunMRU key where command history entries contain PowerShell or specific WMIC usage. Such activity can indicate an attacker attempting to execute or stage malicious commands through common Windows run patterns. The detection relies on registry telemetry capturing the RunMRU TargetObject path and command strings in the registry Details field.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Metasploit Stager Delivery via mshta Remote HTA (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Download of Disguised Payload to ProgramData
Suspicious PowerShell WebClient Download of Executable Payload
Malicious Script Host Spawning PowerShell in Gootloader Chain
Suspicious PsExec Service Launching Encoded PowerShell Payload
Suspicious PowerShell Remote Script Execution via IEX DownloadString
Malicious SharePoint ToolShell Post-Exploitation via Encoded PowerShell (via process_creation)
Suspicious In-Memory PowerShell Execution from Web Server via Automation Assembly (via image_load)
Malicious Qilin Chrome Credential Harvesting Script Execution via IPScanner (via process_creation)
Windows Registry RunMRU PowerShell or WMIC Execution Command Indicators
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.