Update v0.16.2

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This section lists all updates associated with version 0.16.2 of the Fleet integration Prebuilt Security Detection Rules.

Rule Description Status Version

Okta User Session Impersonation

A user has initiated a session impersonation granting them access to the environment with the permissions of the user they are impersonating. This would likely indicate Okta administrative access and should only ever occur if requested and expected.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via apt/apt-get Changelog Escape

Identifies Linux binary apt/apt-get abuse to breakout out of restricted shells or environments by spawning an interactive system shell. The apt utility allows us to manage installation and removal of softwares on Debian based Linux distributions and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator. It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via awk Commands

Identifies Linux binary awk abuse to breakout out of restricted shells or environments by spawning an interactive system shell. The awk utility is a text processing language used for data extraction and reporting tools and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator. It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via busybox Shell Evasion

Identifies Linux binary busybox abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The busybox is software utility suite that provides several Unix utilities in a single executable file and the activity of spawing a shell is not a standard use of this binary by a user or system administrator. It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via c89/c99 Shell evasion

Identifies Linux binary c89/c99 abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The c89/c99 utility is an interface to the standard C compilation system and the activity of spawing a shell is not a standard use of this binary by a user or system administrator. It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via cpulimit Shell Evasion

Identifies Linux binary cpulimit abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell. The cpulimit utility is used to restrict the CPU usage of a process in cases of CPU or system load exceeding the defined threshold and the activity of spawning a shell is not a standard use of this binary by a user or system administrator. This can potentially indicate a malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via crash Shell evasion

Identifies Linux binary crash abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The crash utility helps to analyze Linux crash dump data or a live system and the activity of spawing a shell is not a standard use of this binary by a user or system administrator. It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via env Shell Evasion

Identifies Linux binary env abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The env utility is a shell command for Unix like OS which is used to print a list of environment variables and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator. It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via the expect command

Identifies Linux binary expect abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell. The expect utility allows us to automate control of interactive applications such as telnet,ftp,ssh and others and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator and could potentially indicate malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via the find command

Identifies Linux binary find abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell. The find command in Unix is a command line utility for walking a file hirerarchy and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator.It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via flock Shell evasion

Identifies Linux binary flock abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The flock utility allows us to manage advisory file locks in shell scripts or on the command line and the activity of spawing a shell is not a standard use of this binary by a user or system administrator. It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via the gcc command

Identifies Linux binary gcc abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The gcc utility is a complier system for various languages and mainly used to complie C and C++ programs and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator.It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via the mysql command

Identifies MySQL server abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The MySQL is an open source relational database management system and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator.It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via the ssh command

Identifies Linux binary ssh abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell.The ssh is a network protocol that gives users,particularly system administrators a secure way to access a computer over a network and the activity of spawning shell is not a standard use of this binary for a user or system administrator.It indicates a potentially malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access.

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Linux Restricted Shell Breakout via the vi command

Identifies Linux binary find abuse to break out from restricted environments by spawning an interactive system shell. The vi/vim is the standard text editor in Linux distribution and the activity of spawning a shell is not a standard use of this binary by a user or system administrator and could potentially indicate malicious actor attempting to improve the capabilities or stability of their access."

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LSASS Memory Dump Handle Access

Identifies handle requests for the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) object access with specific access masks that many tools with a capability to dump memory to disk use (0x1fffff, 0x1010, 0x120089). This rule is tool agnostic as it has been validated against a host of various LSASS dump tools such as SharpDump, Procdump, Mimikatz, Comsvcs etc. It detects this behavior at a low level and does not depend on a specific tool or dump file name.

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Windows Registry File Creation in SMB Share

Identifies the creation or modification of a medium-size registry hive file on an SMB share, which may indicate an exfiltration attempt of a previously dumped SAM registry hive for credential extraction on an attacker-controlled system.

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Potential Remote Credential Access via Registry

Identifies remote access to the registry to potentially dump credential data from the SAM registry hive in preparation for credential access and privileges elevation.

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User account exposed to Kerberoasting

Detects when a user account has the servicePrincipalName attribute modified. Attackers can abuse write privileges over a user to configure SPNs so that they can perform Kerberoasting. Administrators can also configure this for legitimate purposes, exposing the account to Kerberoasting.

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Suspicious Remote Registry Access via SeBackupPrivilege

Identifies remote access to the registry via an account with Backup Operators group membership. This may indicate an attempt to exfiltrate credentials via dumping the SAM registry hive in preparation for credential access and privileges elevation.

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Signed Proxy Execution via MS WorkFolders

Identifies the use of Windows Work Folders to execute a potentially masqueraded control.exe file in the current working directory. Misuse of Windows Work Folders could indicate malicious activity.

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Account configured with never Expiring Password

Detects the creation and modification of an account with the "Don’t Expire Password" option Enabled. Attackers can abuse this misconfiguration to persist in the domain and maintain long-term access using compromised accounts with this property.

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AdminSDHolder SDProp Exclusion Added

Identifies a modification on the dsHeuristics attribute on the bit that holds the configuration of groups excluded from the SDProp process. The SDProp compares the permissions on protected objects with those defined on the AdminSDHolder object. If the permissions on any of the protected accounts and groups do not match, the permissions on the protected accounts and groups are reset to match those of the domain’s AdminSDHolder object, meaning that groups excluded will remain unchanged. Attackers can abuse this misconfiguration to maintain long-term access to privileged accounts in these groups.

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Potential Cookies Theft via Browser Debugging

Identifies the execution of a Chromium based browser with the debugging process argument, which may indicate an attempt to steal authentication cookies. An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials.

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Agent Spoofing - Mismatched Agent ID

Detects events that have a mismatch on the expected event agent ID. The status "agent_id_mismatch" occurs when the expected agent ID associated with the API key does not match the actual agent ID in an event. This could indicate attempts to spoof events in order to masquerade actual activity to evade detection.

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WebServer Access Logs Deleted

Identifies the deletion of WebServer access logs. This may indicate an attempt to evade detection or destroy forensic evidence on a system.

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Timestomping using Touch Command

Timestomping is an anti-forensics technique which is used to modify the timestamps of a file, often to mimic files that are in the same folder.

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Security Software Discovery via Grep

Identifies the use of the grep command to discover known third-party macOS and Linux security tools, such as Antivirus or Host Firewall details.

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Virtual Machine Fingerprinting via Grep

An adversary may attempt to get detailed information about the operating system and hardware. This rule identifies common locations used to discover virtual machine hardware by a non-root user. This technique has been used by the Pupy RAT and other malware.

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Potential Reverse Shell Activity via Terminal

Identifies the execution of a shell process with suspicious arguments which may be indicative of reverse shell activity.

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Suspicious JAVA Child Process

Identifies suspicious child processes of the Java interpreter process. This may indicate an attempt to execute a malicious JAR file or an exploitation attempt via a JAVA specific vulnerability.

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Potential JAVA/JNDI Exploitation Attempt

Identifies an outbound network connection by JAVA to LDAP, RMI or DNS standard ports followed by a suspicious JAVA child processes. This may indicate an attempt to exploit a JAVA/NDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface) injection vulnerability.

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Hosts File Modified

The hosts file on endpoints is used to control manual IP address to hostname resolutions. The hosts file is the first point of lookup for DNS hostname resolution so if adversaries can modify the endpoint hosts file, they can route traffic to malicious infrastructure. This rule detects modifications to the hosts file on Microsoft Windows, Linux (Ubuntu or RHEL) and macOS systems.

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AWS WAF Rule or Rule Group Deletion

Identifies the deletion of a specified AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule or rule group.

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AWS EFS File System or Mount Deleted

Detects when an EFS File System or Mount is deleted. An adversary could break any file system using the mount target that is being deleted, which might disrupt instances or applications using those mounts. The mount must be deleted prior to deleting the File System, or the adversary will be unable to delete the File System.

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AWS Deletion of RDS Instance or Cluster

Identifies the deletion of an Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) Aurora database cluster, global database cluster, or database instance.

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Spike in AWS Error Messages

A machine learning job detected a significant spike in the rate of a particular error in the CloudTrail messages. Spikes in error messages may accompany attempts at privilege escalation, lateral movement, or discovery.

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Unusual Country For an AWS Command

A machine learning job detected AWS command activity that, while not inherently suspicious or abnormal, is sourcing from a geolocation (country) that is unusual for the command. This can be the result of compromised credentials or keys being used by a threat actor in a different geography than the authorized user(s).

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AWS Security Group Configuration Change Detection

Identifies a change to an AWS Security Group Configuration. A security group is like a virtual firewall, and modifying configurations may allow unauthorized access. Threat actors may abuse this to establish persistence, exfiltrate data, or pivot in an AWS environment.

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Azure Kubernetes Events Deleted

Identifies when events are deleted in Azure Kubernetes. Kubernetes events are objects that log any state changes. Example events are a container creation, an image pull, or a pod scheduling on a node. An adversary may delete events in Azure Kubernetes in an attempt to evade detection.

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Azure Service Principal Credentials Added

Identifies when new Service Principal credentials have been added in Azure. In most organizations, credentials will be added to service principals infrequently. Hijacking an application (by adding a rogue secret or certificate) with granted permissions will allow the attacker to access data that is normally protected by MFA requirements.

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Azure Conditional Access Policy Modified

Identifies when an Azure Conditional Access policy is modified. Azure Conditional Access policies control access to resources via if-then statements. For example, if a user wants to access a resource, then they must complete an action such as using multi-factor authentication to access it. An adversary may modify a Conditional Access policy in order to weaken their target’s security controls.

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Azure AD Global Administrator Role Assigned

In Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), permissions to manage resources are assigned using roles. The Global Administrator is a role that enables users to have access to all administrative features in Azure AD and services that use Azure AD identities like the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, the Microsoft 365 compliance center, Exchange, SharePoint Online, and Skype for Business Online. Attackers can add users as Global Administrators to maintain access and manage all subscriptions and their settings and resources.

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GCP Logging Bucket Deletion

Identifies a Logging bucket deletion in Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Log buckets are containers that store and organize log data. A deleted bucket stays in a pending state for 7 days, and Logging continues to route logs to the bucket during that time. To stop routing logs to a deleted bucket, you can delete the log sinks that have the bucket as their destination, or modify the filter for the sinks to stop it from routing logs to the deleted bucket. An adversary may delete a log bucket to evade detection.

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Microsoft 365 Inbox Forwarding Rule Created

Identifies when a new Inbox forwarding rule is created in Microsoft 365. Inbox rules process messages in the Inbox based on conditions and take actions. In this case, the rules will forward the emails to a defined address. Attackers can abuse Inbox Rules to intercept and exfiltrate email data without making organization-wide configuration changes or having the corresponding privileges.

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Microsoft 365 Exchange Transport Rule Creation

Identifies a transport rule creation in Microsoft 365. As a best practice, Exchange Online mail transport rules should not be set to forward email to domains outside of your organization. An adversary may create transport rules to exfiltrate data.

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SharePoint Malware File Upload

Identifies the occurence of files uploaded to SharePoint being detected as Malware by the file scanning engine. Attackers can use File Sharing and Organization Repositories to spread laterally within the company and amplify their access. Users can inadvertently share these files without knowing their maliciousness, giving adversaries opportunities to gain initial access to other endpoints in the environment.

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Microsoft 365 Exchange DKIM Signing Configuration Disabled

Identifies when a DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) signing configuration is disabled in Microsoft 365. With DKIM in Microsoft 365, messages that are sent from Exchange Online will be cryptographically signed. This will allow the receiving email system to validate that the messages were generated by a server that the organization authorized and were not spoofed.

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Microsoft 365 Global Administrator Role Assigned

In Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), permissions to manage resources are assigned using roles. The Global Administrator is a role that enables users to have access to all administrative features in Azure AD and services that use Azure AD identities like the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, the Microsoft 365 compliance center, Exchange, SharePoint Online, and Skype for Business Online. Attackers can add users as Global Administrators to maintain access and manage all subscriptions and their settings and resources.

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Potential Abuse of Repeated MFA Push Notifications

Detects when an attacker abuses the Multi-Factor authentication mechanism by repeatedly issuing login requests until the user eventually accepts the Okta push notification. An adversary may attempt to bypass the Okta MFA policies configured for an organization to obtain unauthorized access.

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Potential Protocol Tunneling via EarthWorm

Identifies the execution of the EarthWorm tunneler. Adversaries may tunnel network communications to and from a victim system within a separate protocol to avoid detection and network filtering, or to enable access to otherwise unreachable systems.

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Potential OpenSSH Backdoor Logging Activity

Identifies a Secure Shell (SSH) client or server process creating or writing to a known SSH backdoor log file. Adversaries may modify SSH related binaries for persistence or credential access via patching sensitive functions to enable unauthorized access or to log SSH credentials for exfiltration.

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Tampering of Bash Command-Line History

Adversaries may attempt to clear or disable the Bash command-line history in an attempt to evade detection or forensic investigations.

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Creation of Hidden Files and Directories

Users can mark specific files as hidden simply by putting a "." as the first character in the file or folder name. Adversaries can use this to their advantage to hide files and folders on the system for persistence and defense evasion. This rule looks for hidden files or folders in common writable directories.

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System Log File Deletion

Identifies the deletion of sensitive Linux system logs. This may indicate an attempt to evade detection or destroy forensic evidence on a system.

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Persistence via KDE AutoStart Script or Desktop File Modification

Identifies the creation or modification of a K Desktop Environment (KDE) AutoStart script or desktop file that will execute upon each user logon. Adversaries may abuse this method for persistence.

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Potential Privilege Escalation via PKEXEC

Identifies an attempt to exploit a local privilege escalation in polkit pkexec (CVE-2021-4034) via unsecure environment variable injection. Successful exploitation allows an unprivileged user to escalate to the root user.

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Access of Stored Browser Credentials

Identifies the execution of a process with arguments pointing to known browser files that store passwords and cookies. Adversaries may acquire credentials from web browsers by reading files specific to the target browser.

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Access to Keychain Credentials Directories

Adversaries may collect the keychain storage data from a system to acquire credentials. Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features such as WiFi passwords, websites, secure notes and certificates.

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Dumping of Keychain Content via Security Command

Adversaries may dump the content of the keychain storage data from a system to acquire credentials. Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features, including Wi-Fi and website passwords, secure notes, certificates, and Kerberos.

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Keychain Password Retrieval via Command Line

Adversaries may collect keychain storage data from a system to in order to acquire credentials. Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features, including Wi-Fi and website passwords, secure notes, certificates, and Kerberos.

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Prompt for Credentials with OSASCRIPT

Identifies the use of osascript to execute scripts via standard input that may prompt a user with a rogue dialog for credentials.

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SystemKey Access via Command Line

Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features, including Wi-Fi and website passwords, secure notes, certificates, and Kerberos. Adversaries may collect the keychain storage data from a system to acquire credentials.

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Attempt to Remove File Quarantine Attribute

Identifies a potential Gatekeeper bypass. In macOS, when applications or programs are downloaded from the internet, there is a quarantine flag set on the file. This attribute is read by Apple’s Gatekeeper defense program at execution time. An adversary may disable this attribute to evade defenses.

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Potential Privacy Control Bypass via TCCDB Modification

Identifies the use of sqlite3 to directly modify the Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) SQLite database. This may indicate an attempt to bypass macOS privacy controls, including access to sensitive resources like the system camera, microphone, address book, and calendar.

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Potential Privacy Control Bypass via Localhost Secure Copy

Identifies use of the Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) to copy files locally by abusing the auto addition of the Secure Shell Daemon (sshd) to the authorized application list for Full Disk Access. This may indicate attempts to bypass macOS privacy controls to access sensitive files.

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Enumeration of Users or Groups via Built-in Commands

Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands related to account or group enumeration.

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macOS Installer Spawns Network Event

Identifies when the built in macOS Installer program generates a network event after attempting to install a .pkg file. This activity has been observed being leveraged by malware.

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Attempt to Mount SMB Share via Command Line

Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands to mount a Server Message Block (SMB) network share. Adversaries may use valid accounts to interact with a remote network share using SMB.

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Virtual Private Network Connection Attempt

Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands to connect to an existing Virtual Private Network (VPN).

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Creation of Hidden Login Item via Apple Script

Identifies the execution of osascript to create a hidden login item. This may indicate an attempt to persist a malicious program while concealing its presence.

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LaunchDaemon Creation or Modification and Immediate Loading

Indicates the creation or modification of a launch daemon, which adversaries may use to repeatedly execute malicious payloads as part of persistence.

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Emond Rules Creation or Modification

Identifies the creation or modification of the Event Monitor Daemon (emond) rules. Adversaries may abuse this service by writing a rule to execute commands when a defined event occurs, such as system start up or user authentication.

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Creation of Hidden Launch Agent or Daemon

Identifies the creation of a hidden launch agent or daemon. An adversary may establish persistence by installing a new launch agent or daemon which executes at login.

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Persistence via Folder Action Script

Detects modification of a Folder Action script. A Folder Action script is executed when the folder to which it is attached has items added or removed, or when its window is opened, closed, moved, or resized. Adversaries may abuse this feature to establish persistence by utilizing a malicious script.

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Persistence via Login or Logout Hook

Identifies use of the Defaults command to install a login or logoff hook in MacOS. An adversary may abuse this capability to establish persistence in an environment by inserting code to be executed at login or logout.

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Sublime Plugin or Application Script Modification

Adversaries may create or modify the Sublime application plugins or scripts to execute a malicious payload each time the Sublime application is started.

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Unexpected Child Process of macOS Screensaver Engine

Identifies when a child process is spawned by the screensaver engine process, which is consistent with an attacker’s malicious payload being executed after the screensaver activated on the endpoint. An adversary can maintain persistence on a macOS endpoint by creating a malicious screensaver (.saver) file and configuring the screensaver plist file to execute code each time the screensaver is activated.

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Screensaver Plist File Modified by Unexpected Process

Identifies when a screensaver plist file is modified by an unexpected process. An adversary can maintain persistence on a macOS endpoint by creating a malicious screensaver (.saver) file and configuring the screensaver plist file to execute code each time the screensaver is activated.

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Apple Scripting Execution with Administrator Privileges

Identifies execution of the Apple script interpreter (osascript) without a password prompt and with administrator privileges.

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Unusual Process For a Windows Host

Identifies rare processes that do not usually run on individual hosts, which can indicate execution of unauthorized services, malware, or persistence mechanisms. Processes are considered rare when they only run occasionally as compared with other processes running on the host.

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Exporting Exchange Mailbox via PowerShell

Identifies the use of the Exchange PowerShell cmdlet, New-MailBoxExportRequest, to export the contents of a primary mailbox or archive to a .pst file. Adversaries may target user email to collect sensitive information.

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PowerShell Suspicious Script with Audio Capture Capabilities

Detects PowerShell scripts that can record audio, a common feature in popular post-exploitation tooling.

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PowerShell Keylogging Script

Detects the use of Win32 API Functions that can be used to capture user keystrokes in PowerShell scripts. Attackers use this technique to capture user input, looking for credentials and/or other valuable data.

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PowerShell Suspicious Script with Screenshot Capabilities

Detects PowerShell scripts that can take screenshots, which is a common feature in post-exploitation kits and remote access tools (RATs).

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Encrypting Files with WinRar or 7z

Identifies use of WinRar or 7z to create an encrypted files. Adversaries will often compress and encrypt data in preparation for exfiltration.

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Network Connection via Certutil

Identifies certutil.exe making a network connection. Adversaries could abuse certutil.exe to download a certificate, or malware, from a remote URL.

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Connection to Commonly Abused Web Services

Adversaries may implement command and control (C2) communications that use common web services to hide their activity. This attack technique is typically targeted at an organization and uses web services common to the victim network, which allows the adversary to blend into legitimate traffic activity. These popular services are typically targeted since they have most likely been used before compromise, which helps malicious traffic blend in.

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Potential DNS Tunneling via NsLookup

This rule identifies a large number (15) of nslookup.exe executions with an explicit query type from the same host. This may indicate command and control activity utilizing the DNS protocol.

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Connection to Commonly Abused Free SSL Certificate Providers

Identifies unusual processes connecting to domains using known free SSL certificates. Adversaries may employ a known encryption algorithm to conceal command and control traffic.

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Port Forwarding Rule Addition

Identifies the creation of a new port forwarding rule. An adversary may abuse this technique to bypass network segmentation restrictions.

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Potential Remote Desktop Tunneling Detected

Identifies potential use of an SSH utility to establish RDP over a reverse SSH Tunnel. This can be used by attackers to enable routing of network packets that would otherwise not reach their intended destination.

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Remote File Download via Desktopimgdownldr Utility

Identifies the desktopimgdownldr utility being used to download a remote file. An adversary may use desktopimgdownldr to download arbitrary files as an alternative to certutil.

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Remote File Download via MpCmdRun

Identifies the Windows Defender configuration utility (MpCmdRun.exe) being used to download a remote file.

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Remote File Download via PowerShell

Identifies powershell.exe being used to download an executable file from an untrusted remote destination.

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Remote File Download via Script Interpreter

Identifies built-in Windows script interpreters (cscript.exe or wscript.exe) being used to download an executable file from a remote destination.

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SUNBURST Command and Control Activity

The malware known as SUNBURST targets the SolarWind’s Orion business software for command and control. This rule detects post-exploitation command and control activity of the SUNBURST backdoor.

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Remote File Copy via TeamViewer

Identifies an executable or script file remotely downloaded via a TeamViewer transfer session.

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Potential Credential Access via Windows Utilities

Identifies the execution of known Windows utilities often abused to dump LSASS memory or the Active Directory database (NTDS.dit) in preparation for credential access.

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NTDS or SAM Database File Copied

Identifies a copy operation of the Active Directory Domain Database (ntds.dit) or Security Account Manager (SAM) files. Those files contain sensitive information including hashed domain and/or local credentials.

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Microsoft Build Engine Loading Windows Credential Libraries

An instance of MSBuild, the Microsoft Build Engine, loaded DLLs (dynamically linked libraries) responsible for Windows credential management. This technique is sometimes used for credential dumping.

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Potential Credential Access via DCSync

This rule identifies when a User Account starts the Active Directory Replication Process. Attackers can use the DCSync technique to get credential information of individual accounts or the entire domain, thus compromising the entire domain.

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Kerberos Pre-authentication Disabled for User

Identifies the modification of an account’s Kerberos pre-authentication options. An adversary with GenericWrite/GenericAll rights over the account can maliciously modify these settings to perform offline password cracking attacks such as AS-REP roasting.

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Creation or Modification of Domain Backup DPAPI private key

Identifies the creation or modification of Domain Backup private keys. Adversaries may extract the Data Protection API (DPAPI) domain backup key from a Domain Controller (DC) to be able to decrypt any domain user master key file.

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Credential Acquisition via Registry Hive Dumping

Identifies attempts to export a registry hive which may contain credentials using the Windows reg.exe tool.

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Microsoft IIS Service Account Password Dumped

Identifies the Internet Information Services (IIS) command-line tool, AppCmd, being used to list passwords. An attacker with IIS web server access via a web shell can decrypt and dump the IIS AppPool service account password using AppCmd.

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Microsoft IIS Connection Strings Decryption

Identifies use of aspnet_regiis to decrypt Microsoft IIS connection strings. An attacker with Microsoft IIS web server access via a webshell or alike can decrypt and dump any hardcoded connection strings, such as the MSSQL service account password using aspnet_regiis command.

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Kerberos Traffic from Unusual Process

Identifies network connections to the standard Kerberos port from an unusual process. On Windows, the only process that normally performs Kerberos traffic from a domain joined host is lsass.exe.

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LSASS Memory Dump Creation

Identifies the creation of a Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (lsass.exe) default memory dump. This may indicate a credential access attempt via trusted system utilities such as Task Manager (taskmgr.exe) and SQL Dumper (sqldumper.exe) or known pentesting tools such as Dumpert and AndrewSpecial.

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Mimikatz Memssp Log File Detected

Identifies the password log file from the default Mimikatz memssp module.

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Modification of WDigest Security Provider

Identifies attempts to modify the WDigest security provider in the registry to force the user’s password to be stored in clear text in memory. This behavior can be indicative of an adversary attempting to weaken the security configuration of an endpoint. Once the UseLogonCredential value is modified, the adversary may attempt to dump clear text passwords from memory.

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Network Logon Provider Registry Modification

Identifies the modification of the network logon provider registry. Adversaries may register a rogue network logon provider module for persistence and/or credential access via intercepting the authentication credentials in clear text during user logon.

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PowerShell MiniDump Script

This rule detects PowerShell scripts capable of dumping process memory using WindowsErrorReporting or Dbghelp.dll MiniDumpWriteDump. Attackers can use this tooling to dump LSASS and get access to credentials.

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PowerShell Kerberos Ticket Request

Detects PowerShell scripts that have the capability of requesting kerberos tickets, which is a common step in Kerberoasting toolkits to crack service accounts.

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Potential Credential Access via DuplicateHandle in LSASS

Identifies suspicious access to an LSASS handle via DuplicateHandle from an unknown call trace module. This may indicate an attempt to bypass the NtOpenProcess API to evade detection and dump LSASS memory for credential access.

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Searching for Saved Credentials via VaultCmd

Windows Credential Manager allows you to create, view, or delete saved credentials for signing into websites, connected applications, and networks. An adversary may abuse this to list or dump credentials stored in the Credential Manager for saved usernames and passwords. This may also be performed in preparation of lateral movement.

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3

Sensitive Privilege SeEnableDelegationPrivilege assigned to a User

Identifies the assignment of the SeEnableDelegationPrivilege sensitive "user right" to a user. The SeEnableDelegationPrivilege "user right" enables computer and user accounts to be trusted for delegation. Attackers can abuse this right to compromise Active Directory accounts and elevate their privileges.

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2

Potential Shadow Credentials added to AD Object

Identify the modification of the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute in an Active Directory Computer or User Object. Attackers can abuse control over the object and create a key pair, append to raw public key in the attribute, and obtain persistent and stealthy access to the target user or computer object.

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2

Potential Credential Access via Renamed COM+ Services DLL

Identifies suspicious renamed COMSVCS.DLL Image Load, which exports the MiniDump function that can be used to dump a process memory. This may indicate an attempt to dump LSASS memory while bypassing command-line based detection in preparation for credential access.

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3

Potential Credential Access via LSASS Memory Dump

Identifies suspicious access to LSASS handle from a call trace pointing to DBGHelp.dll or DBGCore.dll, which both export the MiniDumpWriteDump method that can be used to dump LSASS memory content in preparation for credential access.

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4

Potential LSASS Memory Dump via PssCaptureSnapShot

Identifies suspicious access to an LSASS handle via PssCaptureSnapShot where two successive process accesses are performed by the same process and target two different instances of LSASS. This may indicate an attempt to evade detection and dump LSASS memory for credential access.

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3

Symbolic Link to Shadow Copy Created

Identifies the creation of symbolic links to a shadow copy. Symbolic links can be used to access files in the shadow copy, including sensitive files such as ntds.dit, System Boot Key and browser offline credentials.

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3

Potential LSASS Clone Creation via PssCaptureSnapShot

Identifies the creation of an LSASS process clone via PssCaptureSnapShot where the parent process is the initial LSASS process instance. This may indicate an attempt to evade detection and dump LSASS memory for credential access.

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2

Adding Hidden File Attribute via Attrib

Adversaries can add the hidden attribute to files to hide them from the user in an attempt to evade detection.

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12

Modification of AmsiEnable Registry Key

Identifies modifications of the AmsiEnable registry key to 0, which disables the Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI). An adversary can modify this key to disable AMSI protections.

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4

Clearing Windows Console History

Identifies when a user attempts to clear console history. An adversary may clear the command history of a compromised account to conceal the actions undertaken during an intrusion.

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2

Clearing Windows Event Logs

Identifies attempts to clear or disable Windows event log stores using Windows wevetutil command. This is often done by attackers in an attempt to evade detection or destroy forensic evidence on a system.

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12

Windows Event Logs Cleared

Identifies attempts to clear Windows event log stores. This is often done by attackers in an attempt to evade detection or destroy forensic evidence on a system.

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3

Suspicious Process from Conhost

Identifies a suspicious Conhost child process which may be an indication of code injection activity.

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5

Creation or Modification of Root Certificate

Identifies the creation or modification of a local trusted root certificate in Windows. The install of a malicious root certificate would allow an attacker the ability to masquerade malicious files as valid signed components from any entity (e.g. Microsoft). It could also allow an attacker to decrypt SSL traffic.

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2

Windows Defender Disabled via Registry Modification

Identifies modifications to the Windows Defender registry settings to disable the service or set the service to be started manually.

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5

Windows Defender Exclusions Added via PowerShell

Identifies modifications to the Windows Defender configuration settings using PowerShell to add exclusions at the folder directory or process level.

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7

Delete Volume USN Journal with Fsutil

Identifies use of the fsutil.exe to delete the volume USNJRNL. This technique is used by attackers to eliminate evidence of files created during post-exploitation activities.

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10

PowerShell Script Block Logging Disabled

Identifies attempts to disable PowerShell Script Block Logging via registry modification. Attackers may disable this logging to conceal their activities in the host and evade detection.

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2

Disable Windows Firewall Rules via Netsh

Identifies use of the netsh.exe to disable or weaken the local firewall. Attackers will use this command line tool to disable the firewall during troubleshooting or to enable network mobility.

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11

Disabling Windows Defender Security Settings via PowerShell

Identifies use of the Set-MpPreference PowerShell command to disable or weaken certain Windows Defender settings.

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3

Disable Windows Event and Security Logs Using Built-in Tools

Identifies attempts to disable EventLog via the logman Windows utility, PowerShell, or auditpol. This is often done by attackers in an attempt to evade detection on a system.

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3

DNS-over-HTTPS Enabled via Registry

Identifies when a user enables DNS-over-HTTPS. This can be used to hide internet activity or the process of exfiltrating data. With this enabled, an organization will lose visibility into data such as query type, response, and originating IP, which are used to determine bad actors.

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3

Suspicious .NET Code Compilation

Identifies suspicious .NET code execution. connections.

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6

Remote Desktop Enabled in Windows Firewall by Netsh

Identifies use of the network shell utility (netsh.exe) to enable inbound Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections in the Windows Firewall.

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5

Enable Host Network Discovery via Netsh

Identifies use of the netsh.exe program to enable host discovery via the network. Attackers can use this command-line tool to weaken the host firewall settings.

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3

Control Panel Process with Unusual Arguments

Identifies unusual instances of Control Panel with suspicious keywords or paths in the process command line value. Adversaries may abuse control.exe to proxy execution of malicious code.

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3

ImageLoad via Windows Update Auto Update Client

Identifies abuse of the Windows Update Auto Update Client (wuauclt.exe) to load an arbitrary DLL. This behavior is used as a defense evasion technique to blend-in malicious activity with legitimate Windows software.

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6

Microsoft Build Engine Started by an Office Application

An instance of MSBuild, the Microsoft Build Engine, was started by Excel or Word. This is unusual behavior for the Build Engine and could have been caused by an Excel or Word document executing a malicious script payload.

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10

Microsoft Build Engine Started by a Script Process

An instance of MSBuild, the Microsoft Build Engine, was started by a script or the Windows command interpreter. This behavior is unusual and is sometimes used by malicious payloads.

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11

Microsoft Build Engine Started by a System Process

An instance of MSBuild, the Microsoft Build Engine, was started by Explorer or the WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) subsystem. This behavior is unusual and is sometimes used by malicious payloads.

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10

Microsoft Build Engine Using an Alternate Name

An instance of MSBuild, the Microsoft Build Engine, was started after being renamed. This is uncommon behavior and may indicate an attempt to run unnoticed or undetected.

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10

Microsoft Build Engine Started an Unusual Process

An instance of MSBuild, the Microsoft Build Engine, started a PowerShell script or the Visual C# Command Line Compiler. This technique is sometimes used to deploy a malicious payload using the Build Engine.

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9

Potential DLL SideLoading via Trusted Microsoft Programs

Identifies an instance of a Windows trusted program that is known to be vulnerable to DLL Search Order Hijacking starting after being renamed or from a non-standard path. This is uncommon behavior and may indicate an attempt to evade defenses via side loading a malicious DLL within the memory space of one of those processes.

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6

Potential DLL Side-Loading via Microsoft Antimalware Service Executable

Identifies a Windows trusted program that is known to be vulnerable to DLL Search Order Hijacking starting after being renamed or from a non-standard path. This is uncommon behavior and may indicate an attempt to evade defenses via side-loading a malicious DLL within the memory space of one of those processes.

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3

Executable File Creation with Multiple Extensions

Masquerading can allow an adversary to evade defenses and better blend in with the environment. One way it occurs is when the name or location of a file is manipulated as a means of tricking a user into executing what they think is a benign file type but is actually executable code.

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4

IIS HTTP Logging Disabled

Identifies when Internet Information Services (IIS) HTTP Logging is disabled on a server. An attacker with IIS server access via a webshell or other mechanism can disable HTTP Logging as an effective anti-forensics measure.

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7

Suspicious Endpoint Security Parent Process

A suspicious Endpoint Security parent process was detected. This may indicate a process hollowing or other form of code injection.

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5

Renamed AutoIt Scripts Interpreter

Identifies a suspicious AutoIt process execution. Malware written as an AutoIt script tends to rename the AutoIt executable to avoid detection.

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6

Suspicious WerFault Child Process

A suspicious WerFault child process was detected, which may indicate an attempt to run unnoticed. Verify process details such as command line, network connections, file writes and parent process details as well.

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5

Program Files Directory Masquerading

Identifies execution from a directory masquerading as the Windows Program Files directories. These paths are trusted and usually host trusted third party programs. An adversary may leverage masquerading, along with low privileges to bypass detections allowlisting those folders.

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7

Microsoft Windows Defender Tampering

Identifies when one or more features on Microsoft Defender are disabled. Adversaries may disable or tamper with Microsoft Defender features to evade detection and conceal malicious behavior.

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3

MS Office Macro Security Registry Modifications

Microsoft Office Products offer options for users and developers to control the security settings for running and using Macros. Adversaries may abuse these security settings to modify the default behavior of the Office Application to trust future macros and/or disable security warnings, which could increase their chances of establishing persistence.

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2

PowerShell Suspicious Payload Encoded and Compressed

Identifies the use of .NET functionality for decompression and base64 decoding combined in PowerShell scripts, which malware and security tools heavily use to deobfuscate payloads and load them directly in memory to bypass defenses.

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3

Potential Process Injection via PowerShell

Detects the use of Windows API functions that are commonly abused by malware and security tools to load malicious code or inject it into remote processes.

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4

Windows Firewall Disabled via PowerShell

Identifies when the Windows Firewall is disabled using PowerShell cmdlets, which can help attackers evade network constraints, like internet and network lateral communication restrictions.

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4

Scheduled Tasks AT Command Enabled

Identifies attempts to enable the Windows scheduled tasks AT command via the registry. Attackers may use this method to move laterally or persist locally. The AT command has been deprecated since Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, but still exists for backwards compatibility.

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5

Potential Secure File Deletion via SDelete Utility

Detects file name patterns generated by the use of Sysinternals SDelete utility to securely delete a file via multiple file overwrite and rename operations.

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6

SolarWinds Process Disabling Services via Registry

Identifies a SolarWinds binary modifying the start type of a service to be disabled. An adversary may abuse this technique to manipulate relevant security services.

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5

Suspicious CertUtil Commands

Identifies suspicious commands being used with certutil.exe. CertUtil is a native Windows component which is part of Certificate Services. CertUtil is often abused by attackers to live off the land for stealthier command and control or data exfiltration.

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13

Suspicious Execution from a Mounted Device

Identifies when a script interpreter or signed binary is launched via a non-standard working directory. An attacker may use this technique to evade defenses.

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2

Suspicious Managed Code Hosting Process

Identifies a suspicious managed code hosting process which could indicate code injection or other form of suspicious code execution.

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5

Suspicious Process Access via Direct System Call

Identifies suspicious process access events from an unknown memory region. Endpoint security solutions usually hook userland Windows APIs in order to decide if the code that is being executed is malicious or not. It’s possible to bypass hooked functions by writing malicious functions that call syscalls directly.

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3

Suspicious Process Creation CallTrace

Identifies when a process is created and immediately accessed from an unknown memory code region and by the same parent process. This may indicate a code injection or hollowing attempt.

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2

Suspicious Zoom Child Process

A suspicious Zoom child process was detected, which may indicate an attempt to run unnoticed. Verify process details such as command line, network connections, file writes and associated file signature details as well.

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6

Unusual Executable File Creation by a System Critical Process

Identifies an unexpected executable file being created or modified by a Windows system critical process, which may indicate activity related to remote code execution or other forms of exploitation.

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5

Unusual File Creation - Alternate Data Stream

Identifies suspicious creation of Alternate Data Streams on highly targeted files. This is uncommon for legitimate files and sometimes done by adversaries to hide malware.

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2

Unusual Process Execution Path - Alternate Data Stream

Identifies processes running from an Alternate Data Stream. This is uncommon for legitimate processes and sometimes done by adversaries to hide malware.

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6

Unusual Network Connection via DllHost

Identifies unusual instances of dllhost.exe making outbound network connections. This may indicate adversarial Command and Control activity.

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2

Unusual Child Process from a System Virtual Process

Identifies a suspicious child process of the Windows virtual system process, which could indicate code injection.

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5

Potential Evasion via Filter Manager

The Filter Manager Control Program (fltMC.exe) binary may be abused by adversaries to unload a filter driver and evade defenses.

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9

Whitespace Padding in Process Command Line

Identifies process execution events where the command line value contains a long sequence of whitespace characters or multiple occurrences of contiguous whitespace. Attackers may attempt to evade signature-based detections by padding their malicious command with unnecessary whitespace characters. These observations should be investigated for malicious behavior.

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8

AdFind Command Activity

This rule detects the Active Directory query tool, AdFind.exe. AdFind has legitimate purposes, but it is frequently leveraged by threat actors to perform post-exploitation Active Directory reconnaissance. The AdFind tool has been observed in Trickbot, Ryuk, Maze, and FIN6 campaigns. For Winlogbeat, this rule requires Sysmon.

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7

Enumeration of Administrator Accounts

Identifies instances of lower privilege accounts enumerating Administrator accounts or groups using built-in Windows tools.

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5

File and Directory Discovery

Enumeration of files and directories using built-in tools. Adversaries may use the information discovered to plan follow-on activity.

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4

Account Discovery Command via SYSTEM Account

Identifies when the SYSTEM account uses an account discovery utility. This could be a sign of discovery activity after an adversary has achieved privilege escalation.

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11

Windows Network Enumeration

Identifies attempts to enumerate hosts in a network using the built-in Windows net.exe tool.

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5

Peripheral Device Discovery

Identifies use of the Windows file system utility (fsutil.exe ) to gather information about attached peripheral devices and components connected to a computer system.

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4

PowerShell Suspicious Discovery Related Windows API Functions

This rule detects the use of discovery-related Windows API functions in PowerShell Scripts. Attackers can use these functions to perform various situational awareness related activities, like enumerating users, shares, sessions, domain trusts, groups, etc.

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5

Enumeration of Privileged Local Groups Membership

Identifies instances of an unusual process enumerating built-in Windows privileged local groups membership like Administrators or Remote Desktop users.

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3

Remote System Discovery Commands

Discovery of remote system information using built-in commands, which may be used to mover laterally.

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4

Security Software Discovery using WMIC

Identifies the use of Windows Management Instrumentation Command (WMIC) to discover certain System Security Settings such as AntiVirus or Host Firewall details.

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5

Whoami Process Activity

Identifies use of whoami.exe which displays user, group, and privileges information for the user who is currently logged on to the local system.

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8

Command Execution via SolarWinds Process

A suspicious SolarWinds child process (Cmd.exe or Powershell.exe) was detected.

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4

Suspicious SolarWinds Child Process

A suspicious SolarWinds child process was detected, which may indicate an attempt to execute malicious programs.

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4

Execution of COM object via Xwizard

Windows Component Object Model (COM) is an inter-process communication (IPC) component of the native Windows application programming interface (API) that enables interaction between software objects or executable code. Xwizard can be used to run a COM object created in registry to evade defensive counter measures.

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2

Svchost spawning Cmd

Identifies a suspicious parent child process relationship with cmd.exe descending from svchost.exe

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11

Unusual Parent Process for cmd.exe

Identifies a suspicious parent child process relationship with cmd.exe descending from an unusual process.

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5

Command Shell Activity Started via RunDLL32

Identifies command shell activity started via RunDLL32, which is commonly abused by attackers to host malicious code.

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5

Enumeration Command Spawned via WMIPrvSE

Identifies native Windows host and network enumeration commands spawned by the Windows Management Instrumentation Provider Service (WMIPrvSE).

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3

Process Execution from an Unusual Directory

Identifies process execution from suspicious default Windows directories. This is sometimes done by adversaries to hide malware in trusted paths.

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4

Execution from Unusual Directory - Command Line

Identifies process execution from suspicious default Windows directories. This may be abused by adversaries to hide malware in trusted paths.

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5

Suspicious Portable Executable Encoded in Powershell Script

Detects the presence of a portable executable (PE) in a PowerShell script by looking for its encoded header. Attackers embed PEs into PowerShell scripts to inject them into memory, avoiding defences by not writing to disk.

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5

PowerShell PSReflect Script

Detects the use of PSReflect in PowerShell scripts. Attackers leverage PSReflect as a library that enables PowerShell to access win32 API functions.

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3

Network Connection via Registration Utility

Identifies the native Windows tools regsvr32.exe, regsvr64.exe, RegSvcs.exe, or RegAsm.exe making a network connection. This may be indicative of an attacker bypassing allowlists or running arbitrary scripts via a signed Microsoft binary.

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11

Execution via local SxS Shared Module

Identifies the creation, change, or deletion of a DLL module within a Windows SxS local folder. Adversaries may abuse shared modules to execute malicious payloads by instructing the Windows module loader to load DLLs from arbitrary local paths.

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5

Suspicious Cmd Execution via WMI

Identifies suspicious command execution (cmd) via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) on a remote host. This could be indicative of adversary lateral movement.

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4

Suspicious WMI Image Load from MS Office

Identifies a suspicious image load (wmiutils.dll) from Microsoft Office processes. This behavior may indicate adversarial activity where child processes are spawned via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). This technique can be used to execute code and evade traditional parent/child processes spawned from Microsoft Office products.

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5

Suspicious PDF Reader Child Process

Identifies suspicious child processes of PDF reader applications. These child processes are often launched via exploitation of PDF applications or social engineering.

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8

Suspicious PowerShell Engine ImageLoad

Identifies the PowerShell engine being invoked by unexpected processes. Rather than executing PowerShell functionality with powershell.exe, some attackers do this to operate more stealthily.

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5

Suspicious Process Execution via Renamed PsExec Executable

Identifies suspicious psexec activity which is executing from the psexec service that has been renamed, possibly to evade detection.

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5

Suspicious Execution - Short Program Name

Identifies process execution with a single character process name. This is often done by adversaries while staging or executing temporary utilities.

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4

Process Activity via Compiled HTML File

Compiled HTML files (.chm) are commonly distributed as part of the Microsoft HTML Help system. Adversaries may conceal malicious code in a CHM file and deliver it to a victim for execution. CHM content is loaded by the HTML Help executable program (hh.exe).

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11

Conhost Spawned By Suspicious Parent Process

Detects when the Console Window Host (conhost.exe) process is spawned by a suspicious parent process, which could be indicative of code injection.

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5

Execution via MSSQL xp_cmdshell Stored Procedure

Identifies execution via MSSQL xp_cmdshell stored procedure. Malicious users may attempt to elevate their privileges by using xp_cmdshell, which is disabled by default, thus, it’s important to review the context of it’s use.

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5

Third-party Backup Files Deleted via Unexpected Process

Identifies the deletion of backup files, saved using third-party software, by a process outside of the backup suite. Adversaries may delete Backup files to ensure that recovery from a ransomware attack is less likely.

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3

Deleting Backup Catalogs with Wbadmin

Identifies use of the wbadmin.exe to delete the backup catalog. Ransomware and other malware may do this to prevent system recovery.

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11

Modification of Boot Configuration

Identifies use of bcdedit.exe to delete boot configuration data. This tactic is sometimes used as by malware or an attacker as a destructive technique.

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10

High Number of Process and/or Service Terminations

This rule identifies a high number (10) of process terminations (stop, delete, or suspend) from the same host within a short time period.

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4

Volume Shadow Copy Deleted or Resized via VssAdmin

Identifies use of vssadmin.exe for shadow copy deletion or resizing on endpoints. This commonly occurs in tandem with ransomware or other destructive attacks.

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12

Volume Shadow Copy Deletion via PowerShell

Identifies the use of the Win32_ShadowCopy class and related cmdlets to achieve shadow copy deletion. This commonly occurs in tandem with ransomware or other destructive attacks.

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3

Volume Shadow Copy Deletion via WMIC

Identifies use of wmic.exe for shadow copy deletion on endpoints. This commonly occurs in tandem with ransomware or other destructive attacks.

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11

Windows Script Executing PowerShell

Identifies a PowerShell process launched by either cscript.exe or wscript.exe. Observing Windows scripting processes executing a PowerShell script, may be indicative of malicious activity.

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10

Microsoft Exchange Server UM Writing Suspicious Files

Identifies suspicious files being written by the Microsoft Exchange Server Unified Messaging (UM) service. This activity has been observed exploiting CVE-2021-26858.

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3

Microsoft Exchange Server UM Spawning Suspicious Processes

Identifies suspicious processes being spawned by the Microsoft Exchange Server Unified Messaging (UM) service. This activity has been observed exploiting CVE-2021-26857.

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2

Microsoft Exchange Worker Spawning Suspicious Processes

Identifies suspicious processes being spawned by the Microsoft Exchange Server worker process (w3wp). This activity may indicate exploitation activity or access to an existing web shell backdoor.

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3

Suspicious MS Office Child Process

Identifies suspicious child processes of frequently targeted Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel). These child processes are often launched during exploitation of Office applications or from documents with malicious macros.

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10

Suspicious MS Outlook Child Process

Identifies suspicious child processes of Microsoft Outlook. These child processes are often associated with spear phishing activity.

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10

Unusual Child Process of dns.exe

Identifies an unexpected process spawning from dns.exe, the process responsible for Windows DNS server services, which may indicate activity related to remote code execution or other forms of exploitation.

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6

Unusual File Modification by dns.exe

Identifies an unexpected file being modified by dns.exe, the process responsible for Windows DNS Server services, which may indicate activity related to remote code execution or other forms of exploitation.

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6

Suspicious Explorer Child Process

Identifies a suspicious Windows explorer child process. Explorer.exe can be abused to launch malicious scripts or executables from a trusted parent process.

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5

Incoming DCOM Lateral Movement via MSHTA

Identifies the use of Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) to execute commands from a remote host, which are launched via the HTA Application COM Object. This behavior may indicate an attacker abusing a DCOM application to move laterally while attempting to evade detection.

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6

Abnormally Large DNS Response

Specially crafted DNS requests can manipulate a known overflow vulnerability in some Windows DNS servers, resulting in Remote Code Execution (RCE) or a Denial of Service (DoS) from crashing the service.

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7

Potential Remote Desktop Shadowing Activity

Identifies the modification of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Shadow registry or the execution of processes indicative of an active RDP shadowing session. An adversary may abuse the RDP Shadowing feature to spy on or control other users active RDP sessions.

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2

Execution via TSClient Mountpoint

Identifies execution from the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) shared mountpoint tsclient on the target host. This may indicate a lateral movement attempt.

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4

Mounting Hidden or WebDav Remote Shares

Identifies the use of net.exe to mount a WebDav or hidden remote share. This may indicate lateral movement or preparation for data exfiltration.

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4

Incoming Execution via PowerShell Remoting

Identifies remote execution via Windows PowerShell remoting. Windows PowerShell remoting allows a user to run any Windows PowerShell command on one or more remote computers. This could be an indication of lateral movement.

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5

RDP Enabled via Registry

Identifies registry write modifications to enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) access. This could be indicative of adversary lateral movement preparation.

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6

Remote File Copy to a Hidden Share

Identifies a remote file copy attempt to a hidden network share. This may indicate lateral movement or data staging activity.

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4

Remote Scheduled Task Creation

Identifies remote scheduled task creations on a target host. This could be indicative of adversary lateral movement.

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8

Service Control Spawned via Script Interpreter

Identifies Service Control (sc.exe) spawning from script interpreter processes to create, modify, or start services. This could be indicative of adversary lateral movement but will be noisy if commonly done by admins.

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11

Suspicious RDP ActiveX Client Loaded

Identifies suspicious Image Loading of the Remote Desktop Services ActiveX Client (mstscax), this may indicate the presence of RDP lateral movement capability.

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4

Lateral Movement via Startup Folder

Identifies suspicious file creations in the startup folder of a remote system. An adversary could abuse this to move laterally by dropping a malicious script or executable that will be executed after a reboot or user logon.

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4

AdminSDHolder Backdoor

Detects modifications in the AdminSDHolder object. Attackers can abuse the SDProp process to implement a persistent backdoor in Active Directory. SDProp compares the permissions on protected objects with those defined on the AdminSDHolder object. If the permissions on any of the protected accounts and groups do not match, the permissions on the protected accounts and groups are reset to match those of the domain’s AdminSDHolder object, regaining their Administrative Privileges.

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2

Adobe Hijack Persistence

Detects writing executable files that will be automatically launched by Adobe on launch.

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10

Registry Persistence via AppCert DLL

Detects attempts to maintain persistence by creating registry keys using AppCert DLLs. AppCert DLLs are loaded by every process using the common API functions to create processes.

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5

Registry Persistence via AppInit DLL

Attackers may maintain persistence by creating registry keys using AppInit DLLs. AppInit DLLs are loaded by every process using the common library, user32.dll.

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4

Creation of a Hidden Local User Account

Identifies the creation of a hidden local user account by appending the dollar sign to the account name. This is sometimes done by attackers to increase access to a system and avoid appearing in the results of accounts listing using the net users command.

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3

Suspicious Startup Shell Folder Modification

Identifies suspicious startup shell folder modifications to change the default Startup directory in order to bypass detections monitoring file creation in the Windows Startup folder.

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5

Creation or Modification of a new GPO Scheduled Task or Service

Detects the creation or modification of a new Group Policy based scheduled task or service. These methods are used for legitimate system administration, but can also be abused by an attacker with domain admin permissions to execute a malicious payload remotely on all or a subset of the domain joined machines.

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7

Persistence via Scheduled Job Creation

A job can be used to schedule programs or scripts to be executed at a specified date and time. Adversaries may abuse task scheduling functionality to facilitate initial or recurring execution of malicious code.

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3

Local Scheduled Task Creation

Indicates the creation of a scheduled task. Adversaries can use these to establish persistence, move laterally, and/or escalate privileges.

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12

Persistence via Microsoft Office AddIns

Detects attempts to establish persistence on an endpoint by abusing Microsoft Office add-ins.

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4

Persistence via Microsoft Outlook VBA

Detects attempts to establish persistence on an endpoint by installing a rogue Microsoft Outlook VBA Template.

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4

KRBTGT Delegation Backdoor

Identifies the modification of the msDS-AllowedToDelegateTo attribute to KRBTGT. Attackers can use this technique to maintain persistence to the domain by having the ability to request tickets for the KRBTGT service.

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2

New ActiveSyncAllowedDeviceID Added via PowerShell

Identifies the use of the Exchange PowerShell cmdlet, Set-CASMailbox, to add a new ActiveSync allowed device. Adversaries may target user email to collect sensitive information.

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7

Potential Modification of Accessibility Binaries

Windows contains accessibility features that may be launched with a key combination before a user has logged in. An adversary can modify the way these programs are launched to get a command prompt or backdoor without logging in to the system.

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8

Uncommon Registry Persistence Change

Detects changes to registry persistence keys that are not commonly used or modified by legitimate programs. This could be an indication of an adversary’s attempt to persist in a stealthy manner.

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8

Account Password Reset Remotely

Identifies an attempt to reset an account password remotely. Adversaries may manipulate account passwords to maintain access or evade password duration policies and preserve compromised credentials.

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3

Startup Persistence by a Suspicious Process

Identifies files written to or modified in the startup folder by commonly abused processes. Adversaries may use this technique to maintain persistence.

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4

Startup Folder Persistence via Unsigned Process

Identifies files written or modified in the startup folder by unsigned processes. Adversaries may abuse this technique to maintain persistence in an environment.

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3

Persistent Scripts in the Startup Directory

Identifies script engines creating files in the Startup folder, or the creation of script files in the Startup folder. Adversaries may abuse this technique to maintain persistence in an environment.

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4

Suspicious Image Load (taskschd.dll) from MS Office

Identifies a suspicious image load (taskschd.dll) from Microsoft Office processes. This behavior may indicate adversarial activity where a scheduled task is configured via Windows Component Object Model (COM). This technique can be used to configure persistence and evade monitoring by avoiding the usage of the traditional Windows binary (schtasks.exe) used to manage scheduled tasks.

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4

Suspicious Execution via Scheduled Task

Identifies execution of a suspicious program via scheduled tasks by looking at process lineage and command line usage.

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5

System Shells via Services

Windows services typically run as SYSTEM and can be used as a privilege escalation opportunity. Malware or penetration testers may run a shell as a service to gain SYSTEM permissions.

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11

Potential Persistence via Time Provider Modification

Identifies modification of the Time Provider. Adversaries may establish persistence by registering and enabling a malicious DLL as a time provider. Windows uses the time provider architecture to obtain accurate time stamps from other network devices or clients in the network. Time providers are implemented in the form of a DLL file which resides in the System32 folder. The service W32Time initiates during the startup of Windows and loads w32time.dll.

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3

User Added to Privileged Group in Active Directory

Identifies a user being added to a privileged group in Active Directory. Privileged accounts and groups in Active Directory are those to which powerful rights, privileges, and permissions are granted that allow them to perform nearly any action in Active Directory and on domain-joined systems.

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4

User Account Creation

Identifies attempts to create new users. This is sometimes done by attackers to increase access or establish persistence on a system or domain.

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10

Potential Application Shimming via Sdbinst

The Application Shim was created to allow for backward compatibility of software as the operating system codebase changes over time. This Windows functionality has been abused by attackers to stealthily gain persistence and arbitrary code execution in legitimate Windows processes.

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9

Persistence via BITS Job Notify Cmdline

An adversary can use the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) SetNotifyCmdLine method to execute a program that runs after a job finishes transferring data or after a job enters a specified state in order to persist on a system.

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2

Persistence via Hidden Run Key Detected

Identifies a persistence mechanism that utilizes the NtSetValueKey native API to create a hidden (null terminated) registry key. An adversary may use this method to hide from system utilities such as the Registry Editor (regedit).

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5

Installation of Security Support Provider

Identifies registry modifications related to the Windows Security Support Provider (SSP) configuration. Adversaries may abuse this to establish persistence in an environment.

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5

Persistence via TelemetryController Scheduled Task Hijack

Detects the successful hijack of Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser scheduled task to establish persistence with an integrity level of system.

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7

Persistence via Update Orchestrator Service Hijack

Identifies potential hijacking of the Microsoft Update Orchestrator Service to establish persistence with an integrity level of SYSTEM.

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5

Persistence via WMI Event Subscription

An adversary can use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to install event filters, providers, consumers, and bindings that execute code when a defined event occurs. Adversaries may use the capabilities of WMI to subscribe to an event and execute arbitrary code when that event occurs, providing persistence on a system.

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5

Webshell Detection: Script Process Child of Common Web Processes

Identifies suspicious commands executed via a web server, which may suggest a vulnerability and remote shell access.

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4

Disabling User Account Control via Registry Modification

User Account Control (UAC) can help mitigate the impact of malware on Windows hosts. With UAC, apps and tasks always run in the security context of a non-administrator account, unless an administrator specifically authorizes administrator-level access to the system. This rule identifies registry value changes to bypass User Access Control (UAC) protection.

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4

Startup/Logon Script added to Group Policy Object

Detects the modification of Group Policy Objects (GPO) to add a startup/logon script to users or computer objects.

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3

Group Policy Abuse for Privilege Addition

Detects the first occurrence of a modification to Group Policy Object Attributes to add privileges to user accounts or use them to add users as local admins.

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3

Scheduled Task Execution at Scale via GPO

Detects the modification of Group Policy Object attributes to execute a scheduled task in the objects controlled by the GPO.

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3

Potential Privilege Escalation via InstallerFileTakeOver

Identifies a potential exploitation of InstallerTakeOver (CVE-2021-41379) default PoC execution. Successful exploitation allows an unprivileged user to escalate privileges to SYSTEM.

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4

Privilege Escalation via Named Pipe Impersonation

Identifies a privilege escalation attempt via named pipe impersonation. An adversary may abuse this technique by utilizing a framework such Metasploit’s meterpreter getsystem command.

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4

Suspicious DLL Loaded for Persistence or Privilege Escalation

Identifies the loading of a non Microsoft signed DLL that is missing on a default Windows install (phantom DLL) or one that can be loaded from a different location by a native Windows process. This may be abused to persist or elevate privileges via privileged file write vulnerabilities.

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3

Suspicious PrintSpooler Service Executable File Creation

Detects attempts to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities related to the Print Spooler service. For more information refer to the following CVE’s - CVE-2020-1048, CVE-2020-1337 and CVE-2020-1300 and verify that the impacted system is patched.

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5

Suspicious Print Spooler File Deletion

Detects deletion of print driver files by an unusual process. This may indicate a clean up attempt post successful privilege escalation via Print Spooler service related vulnerabilities.

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2

Suspicious PrintSpooler SPL File Created

Detects attempts to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities related to the Print Spooler service including CVE-2020-1048 and CVE-2020-1337. .

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5

Potential Privileged Escalation via SamAccountName Spoofing

Identifies a suspicious computer account name rename event, which may indicate an attempt to exploit CVE-2021-42278 to elevate privileges from a standard domain user to a user with domain admin privileges. CVE-2021-42278 is a security vulnerability that allows potential attackers to impersonate a domain controller via samAccountName attribute spoofing.

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2

UAC Bypass Attempt with IEditionUpgradeManager Elevated COM Interface

Identifies attempts to bypass User Account Control (UAC) by abusing an elevated COM Interface to launch a rogue Windows ClipUp program. Attackers may attempt to bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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5

UAC Bypass Attempt via Elevated COM Internet Explorer Add-On Installer

Identifies User Account Control (UAC) bypass attempts by abusing an elevated COM Interface to launch a malicious program. Attackers may attempt to bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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5

UAC Bypass via ICMLuaUtil Elevated COM Interface

Identifies User Account Control (UAC) bypass attempts via the ICMLuaUtil Elevated COM interface. Attackers may attempt to bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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5

UAC Bypass via DiskCleanup Scheduled Task Hijack

Identifies User Account Control (UAC) bypass via hijacking DiskCleanup Scheduled Task. Attackers bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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7

UAC Bypass Attempt via Privileged IFileOperation COM Interface

Identifies attempts to bypass User Account Control (UAC) via DLL side-loading. Attackers may attempt to bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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5

Bypass UAC via Event Viewer

Identifies User Account Control (UAC) bypass via eventvwr.exe. Attackers bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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10

UAC Bypass Attempt via Windows Directory Masquerading

Identifies an attempt to bypass User Account Control (UAC) by masquerading as a Microsoft trusted Windows directory. Attackers may bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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5

UAC Bypass via Windows Firewall Snap-In Hijack

Identifies attempts to bypass User Account Control (UAC) by hijacking the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Windows Firewall snap-in. Attackers bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.

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5

Unusual Parent-Child Relationship

Identifies Windows programs run from unexpected parent processes. This could indicate masquerading or other strange activity on a system.

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11

Unusual Print Spooler Child Process

Detects unusual Print Spooler service (spoolsv.exe) child processes. This may indicate an attempt to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities related to the Printing Service on Windows.

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5

Unusual Service Host Child Process - Childless Service

Identifies unusual child processes of Service Host (svchost.exe) that traditionally do not spawn any child processes. This may indicate a code injection or an equivalent form of exploitation.

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4

Privilege Escalation via Rogue Named Pipe Impersonation

Identifies a privilege escalation attempt via rogue named pipe impersonation. An adversary may abuse this technique by masquerading as a known named pipe and manipulating a privileged process to connect to it.

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2

Potential PrintNightmare File Modification

Detects the creation or modification of a print driver with an unusual file name. This may indicate attempts to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities related to the Print Spooler service. For more information refer to CVE-2021-34527 and verify that the impacted system is investigated.

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1

Potential PrintNightmare Exploit Registry Modification

Detects attempts to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities related to the Print Spooler service. For more information refer to CVE-2021-34527 and verify that the impacted system is investigated.

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2