Sigma rule: PrintNightmare Powershell Exploitation

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-71779c062ad1, updated 2023-01-02T00:00:00.000Z.

SigmaHQ marks this rule as deprecated.

Rule

Title
PrintNightmare Powershell Exploitation
Status
deprecated
Level
high
Author
Max Altgelt (Nextron Systems), Tobias Michalski (Nextron Systems)
Date
2021/08/09
Modified
2023/01/02
File
deprecated/windows/posh_ps_invoke_nightmare.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects Commandlet name for PrintNightmare exploitation.

Log source

product
windows
category
ps_script
definition
Script Block Logging must be enabled

Detection

selection:
    ScriptBlockText|contains: 'Invoke-Nightmare'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.privilege_escalation
  • attack.t1548

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/deprecated/windows/posh_ps_invoke_nightmare.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "PrintNightmare Powershell Exploitation" by Max Altgelt (Nextron Systems), Tobias Michalski (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/posh_ps_invoke_nightmare.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: PrintNightmare Powershell Exploitation",
entity page, dataset version ref-71779c062ad1, updated 2023-01-02T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/6d3f1399-a81c-4409-aff3-1ecfe9330baf (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 6d3f1399-a81c-4409-aff3-1ecfe9330baf, 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.