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MediumSigmaHQAgro (@agro_sev) oscd.community

Detection of PowerShell Execution via Sqlps.exe

This rule detects execution of a PowerShell code through the sqlps.exe utility, which is included in the standard set of utilities supplied with the MSSQL Server. Script blocks are not logged in this case, so this…

Description

This rule detects execution of a PowerShell code through the sqlps.exe utility, which is included in the standard set of utilities supplied with the MSSQL Server. Script blocks are not logged in this case, so this utility helps to bypass protection mechanisms based on the analysis of these logs.

Detection logic

Detection requirements

Platform
Windows

The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.

Log source product
windows
Log source category
process_creation

Known benign triggers

  • Direct PS command execution through SQLPS.exe is uncommon, childprocess sqlps.exe spawned by sqlagent.exe is a legitimate action.

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