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Event ID 5858ErrorMicrosoft-Windows-WMI-Activity/OperationalT1546.003

Windows Event ID 5858 — WMI Provider Error

Logged when a WMI provider operation fails. Contains the provider name, error code, and the initiating process — useful for detecting failed WMI execution attempts and probing activity.

MITRE ATT&CK

Technique

T1546.003 · Windows Management Instrumentation Event Subscription

Tactic

Persistence

View on attack.mitre.org →

Why It Matters

Attackers probing WMI capabilities or using malformed subscriptions generate 5858 errors before successful exploitation. A burst of 5858 events from an unexpected process or user is a reconnaissance signal. 5858 also helps identify failed WMI lateral movement attempts (Invoke-WmiMethod, wmiexec) where the attacker's command did not fully execute.

Key Fields

ProviderNameThe provider that failed — look for repeated failures targeting root\subscription or specific providers
CodeThe WMI error code — WBEM_E_ACCESS_DENIED (0x80041003) suggests privilege issues; WBEM_E_NOT_FOUND (0x80041002) may indicate probing for specific classes
HostProcessThe process that triggered the failure — unexpected hosts (PowerShell, cmd) generating WMI errors are suspicious

Investigation Tips

  1. 1.Multiple 5858 errors from powershell.exe or an unexpected host process indicate WMI probing or a failed lateral movement attempt via Invoke-WmiMethod or wmiexec.
  2. 2.WBEM_E_ACCESS_DENIED errors from a non-admin process can indicate an attacker attempting WMI operations without sufficient rights — check what account triggered them.
  3. 3.Correlate 5858 errors with 5857 successes — attackers often generate errors while establishing WMI subscriptions, then succeed on a later attempt.
  4. 4.Is this always malicious? No — WMI errors occur frequently due to misconfigured management software, network timeouts, and permission issues. Focus on unexpected source processes and repeated errors targeting the subscription namespace.

Related Event IDs

5857WMI provider activity — the successful counterpart to 5858 errors
4688Process creation — identify the process generating WMI errors
4624Successful logon — establish the account context for WMI operations

Full Detection Guide Available

This event ID has a full detection guide with investigation steps, remediation advice, and example log entries.

View full guide for Event ID 5858 →

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