Sigma rule: New DNS ServerLevelPluginDll Installed Via Dnscmd.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-825aab24b96d, updated 2023-02-05T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
New DNS ServerLevelPluginDll Installed Via Dnscmd.EXE
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2017-05-08
Modified
2023-02-05
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_dnscmd_install_new_server_level_plugin_dll.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the installation of a DNS plugin DLL via ServerLevelPluginDll parameter in registry, which can be used to execute code in context of the DNS server (restart required)

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: '\dnscmd.exe'
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - '/config'
        - '/serverlevelplugindll'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1574.001
  • attack.t1112

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_dnscmd_install_new_server_level_plugin_dll.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "New DNS ServerLevelPluginDll Installed Via Dnscmd.EXE" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_dnscmd_install_new_server_level_plugin_dll.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: New DNS ServerLevelPluginDll Installed Via Dnscmd.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-825aab24b96d, updated 2023-02-05T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/f63b56ee-3f79-4b8a-97fb-5c48007e8573 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule f63b56ee-3f79-4b8a-97fb-5c48007e8573, 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.