Alternate PowerShell Hosts - PowerShell Module Load

SigmaHQ Detections@sigmaHQ

•updated Oct 17, 2025•0•13

This rule detects the use of alternate PowerShell hosts, which adversaries might leverage to bypass security detections that specifically monitor 'powershell.exe'. It identifies PowerShell module loads where the 'ContextInfo' field does not correspond to standard PowerShell executables or known legitimate applications that host PowerShell, such as sdiagnhost.exe, ConfigSyncRun.exe, dsac.exe, or wsmprovhost.exe. The rule also filters out common PowerShell help update activities.