Startup Folder File Write

Status: test
Severity: medium
Log source: product windows, category file_event
Author: Roberto Rodriguez (Cyb3rWard0g), OTR (Open Threat Research)
Source: github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

A General detection for files being created in the Windows startup directory. This could be an indicator of persistence.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Persistence	`T1547.001` Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
Privilege Escalation	`T1547.001` Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Sysmon	Event ID 11	FileCreate

Rule body yaml

title: Startup Folder File Write
id: 2aa0a6b4-a865-495b-ab51-c28249537b75
related:
    - id: 28208707-fe31-437f-9a7f-4b1108b94d2e
      type: similar
status: test
description: A General detection for files being created in the Windows startup directory. This could be an indicator of persistence.
references:
    - https://github.com/OTRF/detection-hackathon-apt29/issues/12
    - https://github.com/OTRF/ThreatHunter-Playbook/blob/2d4257f630f4c9770f78d0c1df059f891ffc3fec/docs/evals/apt29/detections/5.B.1_611FCA99-97D0-4873-9E51-1C1BA2DBB40D.md
author: Roberto Rodriguez (Cyb3rWard0g), OTR (Open Threat Research)
date: 2020-05-02
modified: 2025-12-03
tags:
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1547.001
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: file_event
detection:
    selection:
        TargetFilename|contains: '\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp'
    filter_main_update:
        - Image:
              - 'C:\Windows\System32\wuauclt.exe'
              - 'C:\Windows\uus\ARM64\wuaucltcore.exe'
        - TargetFilename|startswith:
              - 'C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\NewOS\'
              - 'C:\$WinREAgent\Scratch\Mount\'
    filter_optional_onenote:
        Image|endswith: '\ONENOTE.EXE'
        TargetFilename|endswith: '\Send to OneNote.lnk'
    condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
    - FP could be caused by legitimate application writing shortcuts for example. This folder should always be inspected to make sure that all the files in there are legitimate
level: medium

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*

Stage 1: `selection`

selection:
    TargetFilename|contains: '\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp'

Stage 2: `not filter_main_update`

filter_main_update:
    - Image:
          - 'C:\Windows\System32\wuauclt.exe'
          - 'C:\Windows\uus\ARM64\wuaucltcore.exe'
    - TargetFilename|startswith:
          - 'C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\NewOS\'
          - 'C:\$WinREAgent\Scratch\Mount\'

Stage 3: `not filter_optional_onenote`

filter_optional_onenote:
    Image|endswith: '\ONENOTE.EXE'
    TargetFilename|endswith: '\Send to OneNote.lnk'

Exclusions

Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`Image`	eq	`C:\Windows\System32\wuauclt.exe`
`Image`	eq	`C:\Windows\uus\ARM64\wuaucltcore.exe`
`TargetFilename`	starts_with	`C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\NewOS\`
`TargetFilename`	starts_with	`C:\$WinREAgent\Scratch\Mount\`
`Image`	ends_with	`\ONENOTE.EXE`
`TargetFilename`	ends_with	`\Send to OneNote.lnk`

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`TargetFilename`	match	`\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp` corpus 2 (sigma 2)

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

Startup Folder File Write

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection`

Stage 2: `not filter_main_update`

Stage 3: `not filter_optional_onenote`

Exclusions

Indicators

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Startup Folder File Write

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

Stage 1: selection

Stage 2: not filter_main_update

Stage 3: not filter_optional_onenote

Exclusions

Indicators

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection`

Stage 2: `not filter_main_update`

Stage 3: `not filter_optional_onenote`