↳ GitHub sourceAnalytics ruleMedium
Process executed from binary hidden in Base64 encoded file
Description
'Encoding malicious software is a technique used to obfuscate files from detection.
The first CommandLine component is looking for Python decoding base64.
The second CommandLine component is looking for Bash/sh command line base64 decoding.
The third one is looking for Ruby decoding base64.'
- Rule type
- Scheduled
- Version
- 1.1.4
- Declared status
- Available
- Query frequency
- 1d
- Query period
- 1d
- Trigger
- gt 0
Declared MITRE coverage
Declared sources
Metadata from the source file. No dependencies inferred from KQL.
Connectors
Data types
KQL query
Original query, unchanged.
let ProcessCreationEvents=(union isfuzzy=true
(SecurityEvent
| where EventID==4688
| where isnotempty(CommandLine)
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, Account = SubjectUserName, AccountDomain = SubjectDomainName, FileName = Process, CommandLine, ParentProcessName
),
(WindowsEvent
| where EventID==4688
| where EventData has_any (".decode('base64')", "base64 --decode", ".decode64(" )
| extend CommandLine = tostring(EventData.CommandLine)
| where isnotempty(CommandLine)
| extend SubjectUserName = tostring(EventData.SubjectUserName)
| extend SubjectDomainName = tostring(EventData.SubjectDomainName)
| extend NewProcessName = tostring(EventData.NewProcessName)
| extend FileName=tostring(split(NewProcessName, '\\')[-1])
| extend ParentProcessName = tostring(EventData.ParentProcessName)
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, Account = SubjectUserName, AccountDomain = SubjectDomainName, CommandLine, ParentProcessName
));
ProcessCreationEvents
| where CommandLine contains ".decode('base64')"
or CommandLine contains "base64 --decode"
or CommandLine contains ".decode64("
| summarize StartTimeUtc = min(TimeGenerated), EndTimeUtc = max(TimeGenerated), CountToday = count() by Computer, Account, AccountDomain, FileName, CommandLine, ParentProcessName
| extend HostName = iif(Computer has '.',substring(Computer,0,indexof(Computer,'.')),Computer) , DnsDomain = iif(Computer has '.',substring(Computer,indexof(Computer,'.')+1),'')
Declared entities
Related content
Links established from declared identifiers and solution manifests.
Source provenance
GitHubDisplayed values come from files in Azure/Azure-Sentinel. They describe the published template, not your workspace configuration.
- File
- Solutions/Endpoint Threat Protection Essentials/Analytic Rules/execute_base64_decodedpayload.yaml ↗
- Commit
9800e51↗- Source identifier
d6190dde-8fd2-456a-ac5b-0a32400b0464
Additional source files 3
Solutions/Endpoint Threat Protection Essentials/Analytic Rules/execute_base64_decodedpayload.yamlsource ↗Detections/SecurityEvent/execute_base64_decodedpayload.yamlmigration-note ↗Solutions/Endpoint Threat Protection Essentials/Data/Solution_EndpointThreatProtectionEssentials.jsonsolution-membership ↗GSTEP / CATALOG TRACKING
Added to catalog : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC
Last change observed : 16 Sept 2026 · 05:49 UTC