sigmamediumHunting

Indirect Command Execution via SFTP ProxyCommand

Detects the use of SFTP.exe to execute commands indirectly via ProxyCommand parameter. Threat actors were seen leveraging this legitimate Windows binary to bypass security controls and execute arbitrary commands while evading detection.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1202

Detection Query

selection:
  Image|endswith: \sftp.exe
  CommandLine|contains: ProxyCommand=
condition: selection

Author

Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)

Created

2026-04-27

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.stealthattack.t1202

Raw Content

title: Indirect Command Execution via SFTP ProxyCommand
id: 762bb580-79b4-40f4-8b9e-9349ce1710f4
status: experimental
description: |
    Detects the use of SFTP.exe to execute commands indirectly via ProxyCommand parameter.
    Threat actors were seen leveraging this legitimate Windows binary to bypass security controls and execute arbitrary commands while evading detection.
references:
    - https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/Binaries/Sftp/
    - https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2025/05/09/lumma-stealer-coming-and-going/
author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
date: 2026-04-27
tags:
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1202
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '\sftp.exe'
        CommandLine|contains: 'ProxyCommand='
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of SFTP with proxy commands for administration or networking tasks
level: medium
regression_tests_path: regression_data/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_lolbin_sftp_indirect_cmd_execution/info.yml