Detection rules › Sigma
NTFS symbolic link creation
Detects scenarios where an attacker attempts to create a symbolic link.
Known false positives
- admin activity on file server
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Persistence |
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: NTFS symbolic link creation
description: Detects scenarios where an attacker attempts to create a symbolic link.
references:
- https://twitter.com/Alh4zr3d/status/1630912251560329224
tags:
- attack.persistence
- attack.t1547.009 # Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Shortcut Modification
author: mdecrevoisier
status: experimental
logsource:
product: windows
category: process_creation
detection:
selection:
NewProcessName|endswith: '\mklink.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- '/h' # hard link
- '/d' # directory symbolic link
- '/j' # directory junction
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- admin activity on file server
level: medium
Stages and Predicates
Stage 0: condition
selectionStage 1: selection
selection:
NewProcessName|endswith: '\mklink.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- '/h'
- '/d'
- '/j'
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
CommandLine | match |
| field:"CommandLine" kind:match |
NewProcessName | ends_with |
| field:"Image" kind:ends_with value:"\mklink.exe" |