Sigma rule: Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-97c70f8033d4, updated 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Sai Prashanth Pulisetti @pulisettis, Aishwarya Singam
Date
2022-12-10
Modified
2025-02-25
File
rules/windows/powershell/powershell_classic/posh_pc_abuse_nslookup_with_dns_records.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

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

Log source

product
windows
category
ps_classic_start

Detection

selection:
    Data|contains|all:
        - 'powershell'
        - 'nslookup'
        - '[1]'
    Data|contains:
        - '-q=txt http'
        - '-querytype=txt http'
        - '-type=txt http'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1059.001

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/powershell/powershell_classic/posh_pc_abuse_nslookup_with_dns_records.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle" by Sai Prashanth Pulisetti @pulisettis, Aishwarya Singam (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_classic/posh_pc_abuse_nslookup_with_dns_records.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",
entity page, dataset version ref-97c70f8033d4, updated 2025-02-25T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/999bff6d-dc15-44c9-9f5c-e1051bfc86e1 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 999bff6d-dc15-44c9-9f5c-e1051bfc86e1, 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.