huntrule

WmiPrvSE.exe Spawned PowerShell Child Process on Windows

Alerts on PowerShell spawning from WmiPrvSE.exe, a possible indicator of WMI-based remote execution.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Markus Neis @Karneades (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-04-03
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Execution

  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 when PowerShell (powershell.exe or pwsh.exe) is created as a child process of WmiPrvSE.exe. Such parent-child behavior can indicate WMI-based execution, which attackers may use for lateral movement or remote command execution. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry capturing process image paths, parent process names, and executable names.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1059.001 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Shadow Copy Deletion Via WMI
Windows process creation: CrackMapExec execution via characteristic command-line flags
Windows PowerShell Command Lines with WMI Process Creation and rundll32 Invocation
Windows Process Creation: Suspicious Children Spawned by HTML Help (hh.exe)
Windows: Alert on Suspicious HH.EXE Process Execution
Windows PowerShell ScriptBlock containing WMImplant tool parameters
Suspicious Script Interpreter Spawned by Explorer via ClickFix Run Dialog (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Download Cradle via ClickFix Fake CAPTCHA (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell EncodedCommand Spawned From Command Shell via Process Creation
WmiPrvSE.exe Spawned PowerShell Child Process on Windows
Pivot detection · T1059.001 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.