Detection of PowerShell Execution via Sqlps.exe

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About the rule

Rule Type

Standard

Rule 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.

Severity

Trouble

Rule Requirement

Criteria

Action1: actionname = "Process started" AND PARENTPROCESSNAME endswith "\sqlps.exe" OR ((PROCESSNAME endswith "\sqlps.exe" OR ORIGINALFILENAME = "sqlps.exe") AND PARENTPROCESSNAME notendswith "\sqlagent.exe") select Action1.HOSTNAME,Action1.MESSAGE,Action1.COMMANDLINE,Action1.FILE_NAME,Action1.PROCESSNAME,Action1.USERNAME,Action1.PARENTPROCESSNAME

Detection

Execution Mode

realtime

Log Sources

Windows

Author

Agro (@agro_sev) oscd.community