WMI Event Consumer created
A WMI Event Consumer (`__EventConsumer`) was registered in the WMI repository for event-triggered execution.
Event ID 5861 (`Microsoft-Windows-WMI-Activity/Operational`) is the premier indicator for permanent WMI persistence (`__EventConsumer`, `__EventFilter`, and `__FilterToConsumerBinding`). When an adversary registers an `ActiveScriptEventConsumer` or `CommandLineEventConsumer`, event `5861` captures the full query, consumer name, and target command/script that will execute automatically upon system startup or specific triggers.
Failure Reason / Root Cause:
Permanent WMI event consumer registration (`Consumer:` name and `PossibleCause:` string shown).
Raw Event XML snippet
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing" Guid="{54849625-5478-4994-A5BA-3E3B0328C30D}" />
<EventID>5861</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>0</Level>
<Task>12544</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8020000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2026-07-17T09:54:44.940Z" />
<EventRecordID>1048576</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="612" ThreadID="1024" />
<Channel>Security</Channel>
<Computer>DC01.enterprise.internal</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="SubjectUserSid">S-1-5-18</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectUserName">SYSTEM</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectDomainName">NT AUTHORITY</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectLogonId">0x3e7</Data>
<!-- Event telemetry fields specific to WMI Event Consumer created -->
</EventData>
</Event>MITRE ATT&CK mapping
| ID | Technique | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
T1546.003 | Event Triggered Execution: Windows Management Instrumentation Event Subscription | Persistence |
T1546.003 | Event Triggered Execution: WMI Event Subscription | Privilege Escalation |
Recommended actions
- Inspect the `Consumer` path immediately. Query local WMI subscriptions (`Get-CimInstance -Namespace root\subscription -ClassName __EventConsumer`) and remove unauthorized script/command consumers.