Detections

Explore public detection logic contributed by the community across SIEM and rule languages.

48 detections

Detects the execution of a Windows Shortcut File (.lnk) that is masquerading as an image file. This technique is used by threat actors like APT29 to trick users into executing malicious code, often delivered within an ISO or ZIP file.
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Tim Peck@timpeck
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Detections.ai Community
1 year ago
00102
Detects an executable initiating a network connection to "ngrok" domains. Attackers were seen using this "ngrok" in order to store their second stage payloads and malware. While communication with such domains can be legitimate, often times is a sign of either data exfiltration by malicious actors or additional download.
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SigmaHQ Detections@sigmaHQ
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SigmaHQ
1 year ago
2031
Detects power-on or reconfiguration events for virtual machines located in vCenter folders designated for decommissioned or orphaned assets. Threat groups like UNC3944 are known to use such forgotten VMs as staging points for attacks, such as mounting disks from critical systems for offline data theft. Activity on these VMs is highly anomalous and warrants investigation.
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R W@shiftyroot
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Detections.ai Community
1 year ago
41107
Detects the addition of a member to a sensitive Active Directory group related to VMware administration (e.g., 'vSphere Admins', 'ESX Admins') using net.exe executed via WinRM (wsmprovhost.exe). This behavior is a key TTP used by threat groups like UNC3944 to escalate privileges and gain control over the vSphere environment after an initial compromise.
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R W@shiftyroot
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Detections.ai Community
1 year ago
1270
Looks for a logon domain in the Microsoft Entra ID logs, encoded with the same DGA encoding used in the Nobelium campaign.
See Important steps for customers to protect themselves from recent nation-state cyberattacks for more on the Nobelium campaign (formerly known as Solorigate).
This query is inspired by an Azure Sentinel detection.
References:
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/12/13/customers-protect-nation-state-cyberattacks/
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/master/Hunting%20Queries/DnsEvents/Solorigate-Encoded-Domain-URL.yaml
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
1047
Use this query to review OAuth applications whose behaviour has changed as compared to a prior baseline period. The following query returns OAuth Applications accessing user mail via Graph that did not do so in the preceding week.
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
0045

APT29

Sigma
This method detects a suspicious PowerShell command line combination as used by APT29 in a campaign against U.S. think tanks.
Yamato Security Hayabusa@YamatoSecurityHayabusa
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Yamato Security Hayabusa Rules
1 year ago
107
This query will find applications that have been granted Mail.Read or Mail.ReadWrite permissions in which the corresponding user recently consented to. It can help identify applications that have been abused to gain access to user email.
The actor, Nobelium, was observed modifying existing tenant application permissions to allow them to read user email through the Microsoft Graph API. See Customer Guidance on Recent Nation-State Cyber Attacks.
This query is insprired by an Azure Sentinel detection.
References:
https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2020/12/13/customer-guidance-on-recent-nation-state-cyber-attacks/
https://github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/blob/master/Detections/AuditLogs/MailPermissionsAddedToApplication.yaml
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
2042
This query will find when a new credential is added to an application or service principal.
The Nobelium activity group was able to gain sufficient access to add credentials to existing applications with mail read permissions. They used that access to exfiltrate email.
See Customer Guidance on Recent Nation-State Cyber Attacks for more on the Nobelium campaign (formerly known as Solorigate).
Additional information on OAuth Credential Grants can be found in RFC 6749 Section 4.4 or Microsoft Entra ID audit activity reference.
For further information on AuditLogs please see Microsoft Entra ID audit activity reference.
This query was inspired by an Azure Sentinel detection.
References:
https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2020/12/13/customer-guidance-on-recent-nation-state-cyber-attacks/
https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/develop/v2-oauth2-client-creds-grant-flow
https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/reports-monitoring/reference-audit-activities
https://github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/blob/master/Detections/AuditLogs/NewAppOrServicePrincipalCredential.yaml
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
1041

APT29

Sigma
This method detects a suspicious PowerShell command line combination as used by APT29 in a campaign against U.S. think tanks.
Yamato Security Hayabusa@YamatoSecurityHayabusa
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Yamato Security Hayabusa Rules
1 year ago
004
This query was originally published in the threat analytics report, Solorigate supply chain attack. Please note that these attacks are currently known as the Nobelium campaign.
Microsoft detects the 2020 SolarWinds supply chain attack implant and its other components as part of a campaign by the Nobelium activity group. Nobelium is the threat actor behind the attack against SolarWinds, which was previously referred to as Solorigate.
Nobelium silently added malicious code to legitimate software updates for Orion, which is IT monitoring software provided by SolarWinds. In this way, malicious dynamic link libraries (DLLs) were distributed to SolarWinds customers.
The following query detects events when SolarWinds processes launched PowerShell commands that were possibly encoded in Base64. Attackers may encode PowerShell commands in Base64 to obfuscate malicious activity.
More Nobelium-related queries can be found listed under the See also section of this document.
References:
https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2020/12/13/customer-guidance-on-recent-nation-state-cyber-attacks/
https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/12/18/analyzing-solorigate-the-compromised-dll-file-that-started-a-sophisticated-cyberattack-and-how-microsoft-defender-helps-protect/
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
0017
This query was originally published in the threat analytics report, Solorigate supply chain attack. Please note that these attacks are currently known as the Nobelium campaign.
Microsoft detects the 2020 SolarWinds supply chain attack implant and its other components as part of a campaign by the Nobelium activity group. Nobelium is the threat actor behind the attack against SolarWinds, which was previously referred to as Solorigate.
Nobelium silently added malicious code to legitimate software updates for Orion, which is IT monitoring software provided by SolarWinds. In this way, malicious dynamic link libraries (DLLs) were distributed to SolarWinds customers.
The following query locates malicious Nobelium-associated DLLs that have been created in the system or locally.
More Nobelium-related queries can be found listed under the See also section of this document.
References:
https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2020/12/13/customer-guidance-on-recent-nation-state-cyber-attacks/
https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/12/18/analyzing-solorigate-the-compromised-dll-file-that-started-a-sophisticated-cyberattack-and-how-microsoft-defender-helps-protect/
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
0017
Original Sigma Rule: https://github.com/Neo23x0/sigma/blob/master/rules/apt/apt_apt29_thinktanks.yml.
Questions via Twitter: @janvonkirchheim.
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
0014
This query was originally published in the threat analytics report, Solorigate supply chain attack. Please note that these attacks are currently known as the Nobelium campaign.
Microsoft detects the 2020 SolarWinds supply chain attack implant and its other components as part of a campaign by the Nobelium activity group. Nobelium is the threat actor behind the attack against SolarWinds, which was previously referred to as Solorigate.
Nobelium silently added malicious code to legitimate software updates for Orion, which is IT monitoring software provided by SolarWinds. In this way, malicious dynamic link libraries (DLLs) were distributed to SolarWinds customers.
The following query searches Threat and Vulnerability Management (TVM) data for Orion software known to be affected by the Nobelium campaign.
More Nobelium-related queries can be found listed under the See also section of this document.
References:
https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2020/12/13/customer-guidance-on-recent-nation-state-cyber-attacks/
https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/12/18/analyzing-solorigate-the-compromised-dll-file-that-started-a-sophisticated-cyberattack-and-how-microsoft-defender-helps-protect/
Azure Sentinel@AzureSentinel
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AzureSentinel
1 year ago
0013
The following analytic identifies potential DLL side-loading instances involving unsigned DLLs mimicking Microsoft signatures. It detects this activity by analyzing Sysmon logs for Event Code 7, where both the `Image` and `ImageLoaded` paths do not match system directories like `system32`, `syswow64`, and `programfiles`. This behavior is significant as adversaries often exploit DLL side-loading to execute malicious code via legitimate processes. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, potentially leading to privilege escalation, persistence, and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Splunk Security@SplunkSecurity
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Splunk Security Content
1 year ago
0039
The analytic identifies instances of `mshta.exe` writing files to world-writable directories. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 11 logs to detect file write operations by `mshta.exe` to directories like `C:\Windows\Tasks` and `C:\Windows\Temp`. This activity is significant as it often indicates an attempt to establish persistence or execute malicious code, deviating from the utility's legitimate use. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to the execution of multi-stage payloads, potentially resulting in full system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Splunk Security@SplunkSecurity
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Splunk Security Content
1 year ago
1035
This analytic identifies multiple failed multi-factor authentication (MFA) requests for a single user within an Okta tenant. It triggers when more than 10 MFA attempts fail within 5 minutes, using Okta event logs to detect this pattern. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to bypass MFA by bombarding the user with repeated authentication requests, a technique used by threat actors like Lapsus and APT29. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized access, potentially compromising sensitive information and systems.
Splunk Security@SplunkSecurity
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Splunk Security Content
1 year ago
1043
The analytic detects the abuse of SqlWriter and SQLDumper executables to sideload the vcruntime140.dll library. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 logs, focusing on instances where SQLDumper.exe or SQLWriter.exe load vcruntime140.dll, excluding legitimate loads from the System32 directory. This activity is significant as it indicates potential DLL sideloading, a technique used by adversaries to execute malicious code within trusted processes. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, maintain persistence, and evade detection by blending with legitimate processes.
Splunk Security@SplunkSecurity
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Splunk Security Content
1 year ago
0041
The analytic identifies the loading of the malicious SolarWinds.Orion.Core.BusinessLayer.dll by SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHost.exe and subsequent DNS queries to avsvmcloud.com. It uses Sysmon EventID 7 for DLL loading and Event ID 22 for DNS queries, correlating these events within a 12-14 day period. This activity is significant as it indicates potential Sunburst malware infection, a known supply chain attack. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized network access, data exfiltration, and further compromise of the affected systems.
Splunk Security@SplunkSecurity
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Splunk Security Content
1 year ago
0034
This rule detects the creation, modification, or deletion of scheduled tasks using specific task names known to be associated with the SVR-attributed GraphicalProton backdoor. The task names are designed to mimic legitimate Windows services to evade detection.
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SigmaHQ Detections@sigmaHQ
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SigmaHQ
2 years ago
0025
This rule detects the creation, modification, or deletion of scheduled tasks with specific names known to be used by the SVR-affiliated GraphicalProton backdoor. The rule monitors Windows Security Event IDs 4698 (A scheduled task was created), 4699 (A scheduled task was deleted), and 4702 (A scheduled task was updated) for a predefined list of suspicious task names.
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SigmaHQ Detections@sigmaHQ
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SigmaHQ
2 years ago
0021
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