Windows: File creation of C:\program.exe enabling unquoted service path execution
Flags creation of C:\program.exe that can be used to hijack unquoted Windows service binary paths.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- file_event
- Author
- frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2021-12-30
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Persistence → Priv EscRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule flags creation events where the target filename is exactly C:\program.exe on Windows. Creating an executable at this specific path can support unquoted service path abuse, where Windows may choose an attacker-controlled binary due to missing quotation marks in file path references. The detection relies on Windows file event telemetry capturing the created/observed filename in the filesystem.
Reporting behind it
Changelog
v2- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No 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.
title: "Windows: File creation of C:\\program.exe enabling unquoted service path execution"
id: 45bd4b2f-e632-4450-a3c2-de0c9d84ba01
status: test
description: This rule flags creation events where the target filename is exactly C:\program.exe on Windows. Creating an executable at this specific path can support unquoted service path abuse, where Windows may choose an attacker-controlled binary due to missing quotation marks in file path references. The detection relies on Windows file event telemetry capturing the created/observed filename in the filesystem.
references:
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1574.009/T1574.009.md
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_creation_unquoted_service_path.yml
author: frack113, Huntrule Team
date: 2021-12-30
tags:
- attack.privilege-escalation
- attack.persistence
- attack.t1547.009
logsource:
product: windows
category: file_event
detection:
selection:
TargetFilename: C:\program.exe
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: 8c3c76ca-8f8b-4b1d-aaf3-81aebcd367c9
type: derived