Sigma rule: Visual Studio NodejsTools PressAnyKey Arbitrary Binary Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-14891407092c, updated 2023-04-11T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Visual Studio NodejsTools PressAnyKey Arbitrary Binary Execution
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-01-11
Modified
2023-04-11
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pressanykey_lolbin_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects child processes of Microsoft.NodejsTools.PressAnyKey.exe that can be used to execute any other binary

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    ParentImage|endswith: '\Microsoft.NodejsTools.PressAnyKey.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use by developers as part of NodeJS development with Visual Studio Tools

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1218

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/process_creation/proc_creation_win_pressanykey_lolbin_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Visual Studio NodejsTools PressAnyKey Arbitrary Binary 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_pressanykey_lolbin_execution.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: Visual Studio NodejsTools PressAnyKey Arbitrary Binary Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-14891407092c, updated 2023-04-11T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/a20391f8-76fb-437b-abc0-dba2df1952c6 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule a20391f8-76fb-437b-abc0-dba2df1952c6, 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.