Sigma rule: Add Debugger Entry To AeDebug For Persistence

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-6ffb3c2704ad, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Add Debugger Entry To AeDebug For Persistence
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-07-21
Modified
2023-08-17
File
rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_aedebug_persistence.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when an attacker adds a new "Debugger" value to the "AeDebug" key in order to achieve persistence which will get invoked when an application crashes

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|contains: '\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AeDebug\Debugger'
    Details|endswith: '.dll'
filter:
    Details: '"C:\WINDOWS\system32\vsjitdebugger.exe" -p %ld -e %ld -j 0x%p'
condition: selection and not filter

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use of the key to setup a debugger. Which is often the case on developers machines

Tags

  • attack.persistence

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_aedebug_persistence.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Add Debugger Entry To AeDebug For Persistence" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_aedebug_persistence.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Add Debugger Entry To AeDebug For Persistence",
entity page, dataset version ref-6ffb3c2704ad, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/092af964-4233-4373-b4ba-d86ea2890288 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 092af964-4233-4373-b4ba-d86ea2890288, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.