Sigma rule: Potential Binary Proxy Execution Via VSDiagnostics.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-2498087fae1d, updated 2023-08-03T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential Binary Proxy Execution Via VSDiagnostics.EXE
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-08-03
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_vsdiagnostics_execution_proxy.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects execution of "VSDiagnostics.exe" with the "start" command in order to launch and proxy arbitrary binaries.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\VSDiagnostics.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'VSDiagnostics.exe'
selection_cli_start:
    CommandLine|contains: 'start'
selection_cli_launch:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - ' /launch:'
        - ' -launch:'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate usage for tracing and diagnostics purposes

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1218

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_vsdiagnostics_execution_proxy.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential Binary Proxy Execution Via VSDiagnostics.EXE" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_vsdiagnostics_execution_proxy.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: Potential Binary Proxy Execution Via VSDiagnostics.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-2498087fae1d, updated 2023-08-03T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/ac1c92b4-ac81-405a-9978-4604d78cc47e (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule ac1c92b4-ac81-405a-9978-4604d78cc47e, 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.