Windows Network Connections by wscript/cscript Script Interpreters to Non-Local IPs

Flags wscript.exe/cscript.exe making outbound connections to non-local destination IPs.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2

Product: windows
Category: network_connection
Author: frack113, Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2022-08-28
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1105Ingress Tool Transfer
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags outbound network connections where the initiating process is wscript.exe or cscript.exe and the destination is not within selected local and non-routable IP ranges. This matters because script interpreters are commonly leveraged to fetch remote resources such as payloads or stage follow-on activity. The detection relies on Windows network connection telemetry that includes the initiating process and destination IP address.

Reporting behind it

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Windows Network Connections by wscript/cscript Script Interpreters to Non-Local IPs

Pivot detection · T1105 · 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-script-interpreter-initiates-outbound-network-connections-to-non-local-i-992a6cae

title: Windows Network Connections by wscript/cscript Script Interpreters to Non-Local IPs
id: 0a8c64d6-618e-4396-8b1e-54374e9bb704
related:
  - id: 08249dc0-a28d-4555-8ba5-9255a198e08c
    type: derived
  - id: 992a6cae-db6a-43c8-9cec-76d7195c96fc
    type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags outbound network connections where the initiating process is wscript.exe or cscript.exe and the destination is not within selected local and non-routable IP ranges. This matters because script interpreters are commonly leveraged to fetch remote resources such as payloads or stage follow-on activity. The detection relies on Windows network connection telemetry that includes the initiating process and destination IP address.
references:
  - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/28d190330fe44de6ff4767fc400cc10fa7cd6540/atomics/T1105/T1105.md
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/network_connection/net_connection_win_wscript_cscript_outbound_connection.yml
author: frack113, Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2022-08-28
modified: 2024-03-13
tags:
  - attack.command-and-control
  - attack.t1105
logsource:
  category: network_connection
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    Initiated: "true"
    Image|endswith:
      - \wscript.exe
      - \cscript.exe
  filter_main_local_ranges:
    DestinationIp|cidr:
      - 127.0.0.0/8
      - 10.0.0.0/8
      - 172.16.0.0/12
      - 192.168.0.0/16
      - 169.254.0.0/16
      - ::1/128
      - fe80::/10
      - fc00::/7
  filter_main_ms_ranges:
    DestinationIp|cidr: 20.0.0.0/11
  condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate scripts
level: high
license: DRL-1.1

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