huntrule

Windows Service Control Manager: Obfuscated Environment Variable PowerShell via cmd /c set -f

Alerts on Service Control Manager event 7045 where a service ImagePath uses cmd /c|/r with "set" and -f formatting.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
Jonathan Cheong, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-10-15
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion

  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 services that use the Service Control Manager (EventID 7045) to start a process whose ImagePath indicates an obfuscated cmd-based PowerShell launcher. Attackers often hide execution by combining cmd /c or /r with Environment Variable operations (set and format-style -f usage) to conceal commands from straightforward inspection. The detection relies on System telemetry from Service Control Manager, matching patterns in the ImagePath field for cmd execution and the presence of obfuscation-related string fragments.

Reporting behind it

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PowerShell Encoded or Download-Cradle Command Line (via process_creation)
Obfuscated Encoded PowerShell Payload Deployed - PowerShell (via powershell)
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Windows Service Control Manager: Obfuscated Environment Variable PowerShell via cmd /c set -f
Pivot detection · T1027 · 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.