Sigma rule: PUA - NPS Tunneling Tool Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-865571d848a3, updated 2024-11-23T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
PUA - NPS Tunneling Tool Execution
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-10-08
Modified
2024-11-23
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pua_nps.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the use of NPS, a port forwarding and intranet penetration proxy server

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    Image|endswith: '\npc.exe'
selection_cli_1:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - ' -server='
        - ' -vkey='
        - ' -password='
selection_cli_2:
    CommandLine|contains: ' -config=npc'
selection_hashes:
    # v0.26.10
    Hashes|contains:
        - "MD5=AE8ACF66BFE3A44148964048B826D005"
        - "SHA1=CEA49E9B9B67F3A13AD0BE1C2655293EA3C18181"
        - "SHA256=5A456283392FFCEEEACA3D3426C306EB470304637520D72FED1CC1FEBBBD6856"
condition: 1 of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use

Tags

  • attack.command-and-control
  • attack.t1090

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_nps.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "PUA - NPS Tunneling Tool Execution" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pua_nps.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 - NPS Tunneling Tool Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-865571d848a3, updated 2024-11-23T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/68d37776-61db-42f5-bf54-27e87072d17e (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 68d37776-61db-42f5-bf54-27e87072d17e, 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.