Sigma rule: Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle - ProcessCreation

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-2e35b710aef5, updated 2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle - ProcessCreation
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-09-05
Modified
2026-10-13
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_nslookup_poweshell_download.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects suspicious powershell download cradle using nslookup.
This cradle uses nslookup to extract payloads from DNS records

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\nslookup.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'nslookup.exe'
selection_cmd:
    ParentImage|endswith:
        - '\powershell.exe'
        - '\pwsh.exe'
    CommandLine|contains:
        - ' -q=txt '
        - ' -querytype=txt '
        - ' -type=txt'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.command-and-control
  • attack.t1071.004

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

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_nslookup_poweshell_download.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle - ProcessCreation" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_nslookup_poweshell_download.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: Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle - ProcessCreation",
entity page, dataset version ref-2e35b710aef5, updated 2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/1b3b01c7-84e9-4072-86e5-fc285a41ff23 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 1b3b01c7-84e9-4072-86e5-fc285a41ff23, 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.