huntrule

Windows System: Detects Service Control Manager spawning obfuscated PowerShell via VAR++ LAUNCHER

Flags newly created Windows services whose ImagePath contains cmd chaining and obfuscated PowerShell launcher indicators.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-10-13
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 identifies Windows Service Control Manager (Event ID 7045) creating a service whose ImagePath contains command-line patterns consistent with obfuscated PowerShell launcher behavior (VAR++ LAUNCHER). Attackers often use obfuscation and staged command execution (e.g., cmd /c with string formatting) to evade detection while executing PowerShell. The detection relies on System logs capturing Service Control Manager service-install events and matches specific substrings in the ImagePath.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1027 — drag to rearrange
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Malicious Emmenhtal JavaScript Loader Spawning Encoded PowerShell
Suspicious Python Interpreter Launching Encoded PowerShell via subprocess
Suspicious PS1Bot PowerShell Payload Written to ProgramData (via file_event)
Malicious Non-Interactive Encoded PowerShell Stager (via process_creation)
Suspicious Hidden PowerShell Executing Substring of Dropped File
PowerShell Encoded or Download-Cradle Command Line (via process_creation)
Obfuscated Encoded PowerShell Payload Deployed - PowerShell (via powershell)
Suspicious PowerShell AES Decryption and Reflective Method Invocation in SolarMarker
Windows System: Detects Service Control Manager spawning obfuscated PowerShell via VAR++ LAUNCHER
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.