Windows NirSoft Utilities
The following analytic identifies the execution of commonly used NirSoft utilities on Windows systems. This activity is significant for a SOC because NirSoft utilities, while legitimate, can be used by adversaries…
Description
The following analytic identifies the execution of commonly used NirSoft utilities on Windows systems. This activity is significant for a SOC because NirSoft utilities, while legitimate, can be used by adversaries for malicious purposes like credential theft or system reconnaissance. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or further system compromise. Note that this search does not use a where clause to filter out known benign paths, as NirSoft utilities can be executed from various locations. This might hinder performance in environments with high data volumes. Apply additional filtering as necessary to enhance this.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- PRE
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
- Log source category
- sysmon_eventid_1
Known benign triggers
- False positives may be present. Filtering may be required before setting to alert.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| www.nirsoft.net | Only this detection cites it |
| github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/388942adbd9641f4dfdcf079d7efe9a75ec0ac43/atomics/T1685/T1685.yaml#L623 | 10 |
| www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/TA18-201A | Only this detection cites it |
| www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2022/01/15/destructive-malware-targeting-ukrainian-organizations/ | 27from 2 sources |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 5b2f4596-7d4c-11ec-88a7-acde48001122
- Tagged by the source as
- Data DestructionUnusual ProcessesWhisperGateEndpointendpointSplunk CloudSplunk EnterpriseSplunk Enterprise Securityendpoint
Licence
- Published under
- Apache License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
- Obtained under
- Apache-2.0Read the origin licence
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Oct 14, 2026
- Version
- 4