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Service Reconnaissance Via Wmic.EXE

An adversary might use WMI to check if a certain remote service is running on a remote device. When the test completes, a service information will be displayed on the screen if it exists. A common feedback message is that "No instance(s) Available" if the service queried is not running. A common error message is "Node - (provided IP or default) ERROR Description =The RPC server is unavailable" if the provided remote host is unreachable

MITRE ATT&CK

T1047

execution

Detection Query

selection_img:
  - Image|endswith: \WMIC.exe
  - OriginalFileName: wmic.exe
selection_cli:
  CommandLine|contains: service
filter_main_win32_methods:
  CommandLine|contains:
    - Change
    - Create
    - Delete
    - PauseService
    - ResumeService
    - SetSecurityDescriptor
    - StartService
    - StopService
    - UserControlService
condition: all of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_*

Author

frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Created

2023-02-14

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.executionattack.t1047

Raw Content

title: Service Reconnaissance Via Wmic.EXE
id: 76f55eaa-d27f-4213-9d45-7b0e4b60bbae
related:
    - id: 68bcd73b-37ef-49cb-95fc-edc809730be6
      type: similar
status: test
description: |
    An adversary might use WMI to check if a certain remote service is running on a remote device.
    When the test completes, a service information will be displayed on the screen if it exists.
    A common feedback message is that "No instance(s) Available" if the service queried is not running.
    A common error message is "Node - (provided IP or default) ERROR Description =The RPC server is unavailable" if the provided remote host is unreachable
references:
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1047/T1047.md
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/wmic
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/cimwin32prov/win32-service
author: frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2023-02-14
modified: 2026-01-07
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.t1047
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\WMIC.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'wmic.exe'
    selection_cli:
        CommandLine|contains: 'service'
    filter_main_win32_methods:
        CommandLine|contains:
            - 'Change'
            - 'Create'
            - 'Delete'
            - 'PauseService'
            - 'ResumeService'
            - 'SetSecurityDescriptor'
            - 'StartService'
            - 'StopService'
            - 'UserControlService'
    condition: all of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium