Detection of PowerShell Execution via Sqlps.exe

Status: test
Severity: medium
Log source: product windows, category process_creation
Author: Agro (@agro_sev) oscd.community
Source: github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

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.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Execution	`T1059.001` Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell, `T1127` Trusted Developer Utilities Proxy Execution
Stealth	`T1127` Trusted Developer Utilities Proxy Execution

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Sysmon	Event ID 1	Process creation

Rule body yaml

title: Detection of PowerShell Execution via Sqlps.exe
id: 0152550d-3a26-4efd-9f0e-54a0b28ae2f3
status: test
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.
references:
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/tools/sqlps-utility?view=sql-server-ver15
    - https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/OtherMSBinaries/Sqlps/
    - https://twitter.com/bryon_/status/975835709587075072
author: 'Agro (@agro_sev) oscd.community'
date: 2020-10-10
modified: 2022-12-09
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1059.001
    - attack.t1127
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_parent:
        ParentImage|endswith: '\sqlps.exe'
    selection_image:
        - Image|endswith: '\sqlps.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'sqlps.exe'
    filter_image:
        ParentImage|endswith: '\sqlagent.exe'
    condition: selection_parent or (selection_image and not filter_image)
falsepositives:
    - Direct PS command execution through SQLPS.exe is uncommon, childprocess sqlps.exe spawned by sqlagent.exe is a legitimate action.
level: medium

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

selection_parent or (selection_image and not filter_image)

Stage 1: `selection_parent`

selection_parent:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\sqlps.exe'

Stage 2: `selection_image`

selection_image:
    - Image|endswith: '\sqlps.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'sqlps.exe'

Stage 3: `not filter_image`

filter_image:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\sqlagent.exe'

Exclusions

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

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`ParentImage`	ends_with	`\sqlagent.exe`

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
`Image`	ends_with	`\sqlps.exe`
`OriginalFileName`	eq	`sqlps.exe`
`ParentImage`	ends_with	`\sqlps.exe`

`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)

Detection of PowerShell Execution via Sqlps.exe

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection_parent`

Stage 2: `selection_image`

Stage 3: `not filter_image`

Exclusions

Indicators

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Detection of PowerShell Execution via Sqlps.exe

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

Stage 1: selection_parent

Stage 2: selection_image

Stage 3: not filter_image

Exclusions

Indicators

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection_parent`

Stage 2: `selection_image`

Stage 3: `not filter_image`