huntrule

Windows Service Installation with Suspicious ProgramData/Root Executable Image Paths

Flags Windows service installs (Event 7045) that reference suspicious EXE paths in ProgramData or directly under C:\.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
pH-T (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-03-18
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

  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 service creation events from the Service Control Manager (EventID 7045) where the service executable path matches suspicious patterns rooted in ProgramData or the filesystem root. Attackers may use services for persistence or privilege escalation by pointing a new service to an unexpected executable location. Detection relies on Windows service installation telemetry, specifically the ImagePath value reported in Event 7045, and applies regex checks to identify the anomalous path formats.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1543.003 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Abyss Locker wmihelper SSH Backdoor Deployment (via file_event)
Malicious AuKill EDR Killer Kernel Driver Load via Process Explorer Driver (via image_load)
Suspicious TermService ServiceDll Hijack via Registry (via registry_set)
Suspicious Service Creation Named RDP-Controller via sc.exe (via process_creation)
Suspicious Service or Task Named windowsinspectionupdate (via process_creation)
Malicious Service Persistence via sc.exe Creating msdnetsvc
Suspicious Stately Taurus Masqueraded Service and Task Persistence via process_creation
Malicious Vulnerable Driver Load for EDR Evasion (via image_load)
Malicious Gelsemium OwlProxy wmipd DLL Load via image_load
Windows Service Installation with Suspicious ProgramData/Root Executable Image Paths
Pivot detection · T1543.003 · 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.