Detection rules › Sigma
New Kernel Driver Via SC.EXE
Detects creation of a new service (kernel driver) with the type "kernel"
Known false positives
- Rare legitimate installation of kernel drivers via sc.exe
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Persistence | |
| Privilege Escalation |
Telemetry coverage
| Provider | Record / event type |
|---|---|
| Sysmon | Event ID 1: Process creation |
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4688: A new process has been created. |
Rule body
title: New Kernel Driver Via SC.EXE
id: 431a1fdb-4799-4f3b-91c3-a683b003fc49
status: test
description: Detects creation of a new service (kernel driver) with the type "kernel"
references:
- https://www.aon.com/cyber-solutions/aon_cyber_labs/yours-truly-signed-av-driver-weaponizing-an-antivirus-driver/
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-07-14
modified: 2025-10-07
tags:
- attack.persistence
- attack.privilege-escalation
- attack.t1543.003
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith: '\sc.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- 'create'
- 'config'
CommandLine|contains|all:
- 'binPath'
- 'type'
- 'kernel'
filter_optional_avira_driver:
- CommandLine|contains|all:
- 'create netprotection_network_filter'
- 'type= kernel start= '
- 'binPath= System32\drivers\netprotection_network_filter'
- 'DisplayName= netprotection_network_filter'
- 'group= PNP_TDI tag= yes'
- CommandLine|contains|all:
- 'create avelam binpath=C:\Windows\system32\drivers\avelam.sys'
- 'type=kernel start=boot error=critical group=Early-Launch'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
- Rare legitimate installation of kernel drivers via sc.exe
level: medium
Stages and Predicates
Stage 0: condition
selection and not 1 of filter_optional_*Stage 1: selection
selection:
Image|endswith: '\sc.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- 'create'
- 'config'
CommandLine|contains|all:
- 'binPath'
- 'type'
- 'kernel'
Stage 2: not filter_optional_avira_driver
filter_optional_avira_driver:
- CommandLine|contains|all:
- 'create netprotection_network_filter'
- 'type= kernel start= '
- 'binPath= System32\drivers\netprotection_network_filter'
- 'DisplayName= netprotection_network_filter'
- 'group= PNP_TDI tag= yes'
- CommandLine|contains|all:
- 'create avelam binpath=C:\Windows\system32\drivers\avelam.sys'
- 'type=kernel start=boot error=critical group=Early-Launch'
Exclusions
The rule actively suppresses these predicates.
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
CommandLine | match |
| field:"CommandLine" kind:match |
Image | ends_with |
| field:"Image" kind:ends_with value:"\sc.exe" |