Detection: Malicious Powershell Executed As A Service

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: 8e204dfd-cae0-4ea8-a61d-e972a1ff2ff8 Author: Ryan Becwar Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies the execution of malicious PowerShell commands or payloads via the Windows SC.exe utility. It detects this activity by analyzing Windows System logs (EventCode 7045) and filtering for specific PowerShell-related patterns in the ImagePath field. This behavior is significant because it indicates potential abuse of the Windows Service Control Manager to run unauthorized or harmful scripts, which could lead to system compromise. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, or maintain persistence within the environment.

Search

 1`wineventlog_system`
 2EventCode=7045
 3
 4| eval l_ImagePath=lower(ImagePath)
 5
 6| regex l_ImagePath="powershell[.\s]
 7|powershell_ise[.\s]
 8|pwsh[.\s]
 9|psexec[.\s]"
10
11| regex l_ImagePath="-nop[rofile\s]+
12|-w[indowstyle]*\s+hid[den]*
13|-noe[xit\s]+
14|-enc[odedcommand\s]+"
15
16| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
17    by EventCode ImagePath ServiceName StartType
18       ServiceType AccountName UserID dest
19
20| rename UserID as user
21
22| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
23
24| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
25
26| `malicious_powershell_executed_as_a_service_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Windows Event Log System 7045	Windows	`'XmlWinEventLog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:System'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
wineventlog_system	`eventtype="wineventlog_system" OR Channel="system" OR source="XmlWinEventLog:System" OR source="WinEventLog:System"`
malicious_powershell_executed_as_a_service_filter	`search *`

malicious_powershell_executed_as_a_service_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1569.002	Service Execution	Execution

Installation

DE.CM

CIS 10

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`0 * * * *`
Earliest Time	`-70m@m`
Latest Time	`-10m@m`
Schedule Window	`auto`
Creates Finding (Notable)	Yes
Rule Title	`%name%`
Rule Description	`%description%`
Notable Event Fields	user, dest
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	Yes

TTP detections generate a Finding (Notable) and may generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events) for associated entities.

Implementation

To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Windows System logs with the Service name, Service File Name Service Start type, and Service Type from your endpoints.

Known False Positives

Creating a hidden powershell service is rare and could key off of those instances.

Associated Analytic Story

Finding

Title	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
Identifies the abuse the Windows SC.exe to execute malicious powerShell as a service $ImagePath$ by $user$ on $dest$	user	user	50

Intermediate Findings

Message	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
Identifies the abuse the Windows SC.exe to execute malicious powerShell as a service $ImagePath$ by $user$ on $dest$	dest	system	50

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:System`	`XmlWinEventLog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:System`	`XmlWinEventLog`

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub | Version: 13