Sigma rule: Start of NT Virtual DOS Machine

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-4afad0771d2c, updated 2022-07-16T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title: Start of NT Virtual DOS Machine
Status: test
Level: medium
Author: frack113
Date: 2022-07-16
File: rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_susp_16bit_application.yml
Commit: ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Ntvdm.exe allows the execution of 16-bit Windows applications on 32-bit Windows operating systems, as well as the execution of both 16-bit and 32-bit DOS applications

Log source

product: windows
category: process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith:
        - '\ntvdm.exe'
        - '\csrstub.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

Legitimate use

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/process_creation/proc_creation_win_susp_16bit_application.yml

Sources and licences

SigmaHQ
"Start of NT Virtual DOS Machine" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_susp_16bit_application.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: Start of NT Virtual DOS Machine",
entity page, dataset version ref-4afad0771d2c, updated 2022-07-16T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/16905e21-66ee-42fe-b256-1318ada2d770 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 16905e21-66ee-42fe-b256-1318ada2d770, 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.