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ESXI Timestomping using Touch Command

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ESXI Timestomping using Touch Command

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Identifies instances where the touch command is executed on a Linux system with the "-r" flag, which is used to modify the timestamp of a file based on another file’s timestamp. The rule targets specific VM-related paths, such as "/etc/vmware/", "/usr/lib/vmware/", or "/vmfs/*". These paths are associated with VMware virtualization software, and their presence in the touch command arguments may indicate that a threat actor is attempting to tamper with timestamps of VM-related files and configurations on the system.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

logs-endpoint.events.*

Severity: medium

Risk score: 47

Runs every: 5m

Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/massive-esxiargs-ransomware-attack-targets-vmware-esxi-servers-worldwide/

Tags:

Domain: Endpoint
OS: Linux
Use Case: Threat Detection
Tactic: Defense Evasion
Data Source: Elastic Defend

Version: 5

Rule authors:

Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Rule query

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process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and
process.name : "touch" and process.args : "-r" and process.args : ("/etc/vmware/*", "/usr/lib/vmware/*", "/vmfs/*")

Framework: MITRE ATT&CK^TM

Tactic:
- Name: Defense Evasion
- ID: TA0005
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/
Technique:
- Name: Indicator Removal
- ID: T1070
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1070/
Sub-technique:
- Name: Timestomp
- ID: T1070.006
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1070/006/

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