Sigma rule: PowerShell Called from an Executable Version Mismatch

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-431f35564335, updated 2023-10-27T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
PowerShell Called from an Executable Version Mismatch
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Sean Metcalf (source), Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2017-03-05
Modified
2023-10-27
File
rules/windows/powershell/powershell_classic/posh_pc_exe_calling_ps.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects PowerShell called from an executable by the version mismatch method

Log source

product
windows
category
ps_classic_start

Detection

selection_engine:
    Data|contains:
        - 'EngineVersion=2.'
        - 'EngineVersion=4.'
        - 'EngineVersion=5.'
selection_host:
    Data|contains: 'HostVersion=3.'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1059.001

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/powershell/powershell_classic/posh_pc_exe_calling_ps.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "PowerShell Called from an Executable Version Mismatch" by Sean Metcalf (source), Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_classic/posh_pc_exe_calling_ps.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: PowerShell Called from an Executable Version Mismatch",
entity page, dataset version ref-431f35564335, updated 2023-10-27T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/c70e019b-1479-4b65-b0cc-cd0c6093a599 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule c70e019b-1479-4b65-b0cc-cd0c6093a599, 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.