MacOS Scripting Interpreter AppleScript — Sigma Rule

Rule metadata and linked tags

Author: Alejandro Ortuno, oscd.community. Source status: test; severity: medium. Source dates: 2020-10-21 / 2026-05-21.

{
  "category": "process_creation",
  "product": "macos"
}

Pinned original Sigma rule · Detection Rule License 1.1

Source SHA-256: cb6355cb3e000bf95aa78c841b8bc6a2e5eaf27d6ffd2f17a9a51c1c330d3750

Detection logic

Original source YAML. Source-tag agreement is not proof of complete semantic coverage. This rule has not been compiled for a SIEM backend or validated against live telemetry here.

title: MacOS Scripting Interpreter AppleScript
id: 1bc2e6c5-0885-472b-bed6-be5ea8eace55
status: test
description: Detects execution of AppleScript of the macOS scripting language AppleScript.
references:
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1059.002/T1059.002.md
    - https://redcanary.com/blog/applescript/
author: Alejandro Ortuno, oscd.community
date: 2020-10-21
modified: 2026-05-21
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.t1059.002
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: macos
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '/osascript'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - ' -e '
            - '.scpt'
            - '.js'
    filter_optional_opencode:
        # OpenCode uses osascript to handle copying text from the TUI on MacOS devices. See https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode/blob/ca723f1cbc6fc4244ae57e61e9de8c4e37380ed4/packages/opencode/src/cli/cmd/tui/util/clipboard.ts#L65 for reference.
        ParentImage|endswith: 'opencode'
        CommandLine|contains|all:
            - 'osascript'
            - ' -e '
            - 'set imageData to the clipboard'
            - 'set fileRef'
    condition: selection and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
    - Application installers might contain scripts as part of the installation process.
level: medium

Original YAML and metadata in JSON

False positives

• Application installers might contain scripts as part of the installation process.

Source references

• https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1059.002/T1059.002.md
• https://redcanary.com/blog/applescript/