Msxsl.EXE Execution — Sigma Rule

Rule metadata and linked tags

Author: Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community. Source status: test; severity: medium. Source dates: 2019-10-21 / 2023-11-09.

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

Pinned original Sigma rule · Detection Rule License 1.1

Source SHA-256: e16e7e194f8b7debfcf6c4c06124d72925ea5a72fd9d7164890766183ff9c0d5

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: Msxsl.EXE Execution
id: 9e50a8b3-dd05-4eb8-9153-bdb6b79d50b0
status: test
description: |
    Detects the execution of the MSXSL utility. This can be used to execute Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) files. These files are commonly used to describe the processing and rendering of data within XML files.
    Adversaries can abuse this functionality to execute arbitrary files while potentially bypassing application whitelisting defenses.
references:
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1220/T1220.md
    - https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/OtherMSBinaries/Msxsl/
author: Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community
date: 2019-10-21
modified: 2023-11-09
tags:
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1220
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '\msxsl.exe'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Msxsl is not installed by default and is deprecated, so unlikely on most systems.
# Note: If you levreage this utility please consider adding additional filters. As this is looking for "any" type of execition
level: medium

Original YAML and metadata in JSON

False positives

• Msxsl is not installed by default and is deprecated, so unlikely on most systems.

Source references

• https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1220/T1220.md
• https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/OtherMSBinaries/Msxsl/