Sigma rule: PUA - NirCmd Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-81dc9ef88245, updated 2023-02-13T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
PUA - NirCmd Execution
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-01-24
Modified
2023-02-13
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pua_nircmd.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the use of NirCmd tool for command execution, which could be the result of legitimate administrative activity

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_org:
    - Image|endswith: '\NirCmd.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'NirCmd.exe'
selection_cmd:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - ' execmd '
        - '.exe script '
        - '.exe shexec '
        - ' runinteractive '
combo_exec:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - ' exec '
        - ' exec2 '
combo_exec_params:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - ' show '
        - ' hide '
condition: 1 of selection_* or all of combo_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use by administrators

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1569.002
  • attack.s0029

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

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_pua_nircmd.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "PUA - NirCmd Execution" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pua_nircmd.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: PUA - NirCmd Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-81dc9ef88245, updated 2023-02-13T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/4e2ed651-1906-4a59-a78a-18220fca1b22 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 4e2ed651-1906-4a59-a78a-18220fca1b22, 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.