Windows Sysmon Application Popup Crash (Event ID 26)
Flags Application Popup events reporting sysmon64.exe/sysmon.exe “Application Error” (Event ID 26).
- Product
- windows
- Service
- system
- Author
- Tim Shelton (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2022-04-26
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule matches Windows System service events where the “Application Popup” provider reports an application error for sysmon64.exe or sysmon.exe with Event ID 26. An attacker or user impact scenario may attempt to disrupt monitoring by causing Sysmon to crash, reducing visibility. The detection relies on System log telemetry containing the Application Popup provider name, event ID, and the specific sysmon application error captions.
Reporting behind it
- github.comhttps://github.com/nasbench/EVTX-ETW-Resources/blob/f1b010ce0ee1b71e3024180de1a3e67f99701fe4/ETWProvidersManifests/Windows10/1803/W10_1803_Pro_19700101_17134.1/WEPExplorer/Application%20Popup.xml#L36
- github.comhttps://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/builtin/system/application_popup/win_system_application_sysmon_crash.yml
Changelog
v2- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
title: Windows Sysmon Application Popup Crash (Event ID 26)
id: aa68b28d-5ea3-4adb-b9a9-21f62d3547a2
status: test
description: This rule matches Windows System service events where the “Application Popup” provider reports an application error for sysmon64.exe or sysmon.exe with Event ID 26. An attacker or user impact scenario may attempt to disrupt monitoring by causing Sysmon to crash, reducing visibility. The detection relies on System log telemetry containing the Application Popup provider name, event ID, and the specific sysmon application error captions.
references:
- https://github.com/nasbench/EVTX-ETW-Resources/blob/f1b010ce0ee1b71e3024180de1a3e67f99701fe4/ETWProvidersManifests/Windows10/1803/W10_1803_Pro_19700101_17134.1/WEPExplorer/Application%20Popup.xml#L36
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/builtin/system/application_popup/win_system_application_sysmon_crash.yml
author: Tim Shelton, Huntrule Team
date: 2022-04-26
modified: 2024-01-17
tags:
- attack.defense-impairment
- attack.t1685
logsource:
product: windows
service: system
detection:
selection:
Provider_Name: Application Popup
EventID: 26
Caption:
- sysmon64.exe - Application Error
- sysmon.exe - Application Error
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: 4d7f1827-1637-4def-8d8a-fd254f9454df
type: derived