Service execution via sc.exe

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	XDR Agent
Detector Tags	Malicious Service Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Execution (TA0002)
ATT&CK Technique	System Services: Service Execution (T1569.002)
Severity	Informational

Description

Sc.exe has the ability to start services on local and remote hosts. An attacker may abuse it to execute malicious services on a host.

Attacker's Goals

Execute commands and run code on local or remote hosts.

Investigative actions

Check whether the service that was created via sc.exe is benign and if this was a desired behavior as part of its normal execution flow.