How to run example nuclei powershell code template?

[moerketh]

I'm trying to run the sample powershell code template from here but it fails with a signing issue.

The steps I took are:

• Install latest go
• Install pdtm
• Install all tools pdtm -ia
• run nuclei (downloads all templates)
• save example in the templates folder C:\Users\User\nuclei-templates as example-code.yaml
• validate the template nuclei -t example-code.yaml -validate
• sign the template nuclei -t example-code.yaml -sign
  This created a keypair in C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\nuclei\keys (I set a password on it)
• verify the template is signed --> it is not
• re-run nuclei -t example-code.yaml -sign
  This prompts for the password
• verify the template is signed --> it is signed (# digest: 4b0a0048304602<snip>)
• run the code template with nuclei -t example-code.yaml -code -vv

Result on Windows 11 -- signing issue

I had expected the template to run, but it will not run saying it is not signed or tampered with:

[WRN] Found 1 unsigned or tampered code template (carefully examine before using it & use -sign flag to sign them)
[WRN] Skipping 1 unsigned template[s]
[INF] Current nuclei version: v3.3.9 (latest)
[INF] Current nuclei-templates version: v10.1.3 (latest)
[WRN] Scan results upload to cloud is disabled.
[INF] No results found. Better luck next time!
[FTL] Could not run nuclei: no templates provided for scan

However nuclei -t example-code.yaml -validate will say the template is still valid. What did I miss?
Screenshot:

A nudge to resolve this issue would be appreciated!
Btw, I can run pd-signed templates from the template folder without issue.

Environment

Windows 11 Enterprise Eval (Hyper-V quick create)
go version go1.24.0 windows/amd64
pdtm v0.0.9
nuclei:

[INF] Nuclei Engine Version: v3.3.9
[INF] Nuclei Config Directory: C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\nuclei
[INF] Nuclei Cache Directory: C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\nuclei
[INF] PDCP Directory: C:\Users\User\.pdcp

[dogancanbakir]

To execute code templates, use the -code option. Running the command with the -v option will display this warning message:

...
[WRN] Excluded 1 code template[s] (disabled as default), use -code option to run code templates.
..

Could you try again and let us know if it works?

[moerketh]

Hi @dogancanbakir, thanks for your response! I have executed a retry per your instructions below. It's the same command I had in my original post and it yields the same result. The code template is not executed. I don't understand why it's reporting [WRN] Skipping 1 unsigned template[s]. It's clearly not unsigned, you can see the digest is present in the file. Does it work on your end?

[moerketh]

Hi @dogancanbakir, I found the signing issue.
When I save the code template yaml with Windows line endings (\r\n) it does not work because Nuclei claims it is not signed.
When I save the code template yaml with Unix line endings (\n) it works as expected.
I noticed because the template signer tests all use \n

The result is:

PS C:\Users\User\nuclei-templates> $Env:SHOW_DSL_ERRORS=$true
PS C:\Users\User\nuclei-templates> $Env:DEBUG=$true
PS C:\Users\User\nuclei-templates> $Env:NUCLEI_LOG_ALL=$true
PS C:\Users\User\nuclei-templates> "inputzzz" | nuclei -t .\example-code.yaml -code -vv -debug

                     __     _
   ____  __  _______/ /__  (_)
  / __ \/ / / / ___/ / _ \/ /
 / / / / /_/ / /__/ /  __/ /
/_/ /_/\__,_/\___/_/\___/_/   v3.3.9

                projectdiscovery.io

[url] got empty hostname for inputzzz skipping ip selection
[INF] Current nuclei version: v3.3.9 (latest)
[INF] Current nuclei-templates version: v10.1.3 (latest)
[WRN] Scan results upload to cloud is disabled.
[INF] New templates added in latest release: 52
[INF] Templates loaded for current scan: 1
[INF] Executing 1 signed templates from cert-user-name
[INF] Targets loaded for current scan: 1
[ps1-code-snippet] ps1-code-snippet (@pdteam) [info]
[DBG] [ps1-code-snippet] Dumped Executed Source Code for input/stdin: 'inputzzz'
---------------
Source Code:
---------------
$stdin = [Console]::In
$line = $stdin.ReadLine()
Write-Host "hello from $line"


---------------
Command Executed:
---------------
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp\nuclei-tmp-3301126859\541749567.ps1

---------------
Command Output:
---------------
hello from inputzzz

[WRN] Command Output here is stdout+sterr, in response variables they are seperate (use -v -svd flags for more details)
[DBG] [ps1-code-snippet] Dumped Code Execution for inputzzz

hello from inputzzz

[ps1-code-snippet:word-1] [code] [info] inputzzz