huntrule

Windows Remote PowerShell via PS Classic (wsmprovhost.exe, HostName=ServerRemoteHost)

Flags Windows telemetry indicating a remote PowerShell session startup using wsmprovhost.exe with a specified host parameter.

FreeReviewedSigma · Low · v2
Product
windows
Category
ps_classic_start
Author
Roberto Rodriguez @Cyb3rWard0g (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-08-10
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Lateral Movement

  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 identifies start events for a remote PowerShell session in PS Classic by matching process activity where the command data contains HostName=ServerRemoteHost and the executable wsmprovhost.exe. Attackers may use PowerShell remoting to execute commands on remote hosts while blending with legitimate administrative tooling. The detection relies on Windows PS Classic start telemetry that includes the referenced HostName field and the wsmprovhost.exe process indicator.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange
Windows remote PowerShell session activity via wsmprovhost.exe process relationships
Windows Remote PowerShell Session via PS Module ContextInfo and wsmprovhost.exe
WinRM Remote Access to LSASS via wsmprovhost.exe (Windows Process Access)
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 Remote PowerShell via PS Classic (wsmprovhost.exe, HostName=ServerRemoteHost)
Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 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.