Detection rules › YARA-L

Recon Environment Enumeration Network CISA Report

Severity
low
Type
hunt
Time window
15m
Match by
hostname
Source
github.com/chronicle/detection-rules

Detects network enumeration commands as identified in CISA Living off the Land pdf. Alone they may be normal but in concert, they may be worth looking into

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

References

Event coverage

Rule body yaral

/*
 * Copyright 2023 Google LLC
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

rule recon_environment_enumeration_network_cisa_report {

  meta:
    author = "Google Cloud Security"
    description = "Detects network enumeration commands as identified in CISA Living off the Land pdf. Alone they may be normal but in concert, they may be worth looking into"
    rule_id = "mr_9ca49a46-fb60-4ada-b722-5714d5cb7f53"
    rule_name = "Recon Environment Enumeration Network CISA Report"
    type = "hunt"
    platform = "Windows"
    data_source = "microsoft sysmon, windows event logs"
    tactic = "TA0007"
    technique = "T1016"
    reference = "https://media.defense.gov/2023/May/24/2003229517/-1/-1/0/CSA_Living_off_the_Land.PDF"
    severity = "Low"
    priority = "Low"

  events:
    (
        $process.metadata.event_type = "PROCESS_LAUNCH" and
        (
            // cisa report referenced cmd /c in their report throughout, can filter this in/out for tuning as needed
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*arp.*-a`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*curl.*www.ip-api.com`) nocase or
            // the following line is a broader look at dnscmd /enumrecords not explicitly called out in the report can comment out if not needed
            //re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords.*/zone`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumzones`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords.*/additional`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*ipconfig.*/all`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*firewall.*show`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*portproxy.*show`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*portproxy.*show.*v4tov4`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*firewall.*show`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*portproxy.*show.*v4tov4`) nocase or
            re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netstat.*-ano`) nocase
        )
    )
    or
        (
            // C2 like Covenant will mask curl command running from PowerShell; added this to detect DNS lookup for this site as another method to identify
            $process.metadata.event_type = "NETWORK_DNS" and
            $process.network.application_protocol = "DNS" and
            $process.network.dns.questions.name = "www.ip-api.com"
        )

    $process.principal.hostname = $hostname
    $process.target.process.command_line = $command_line

  match:
    $hostname over 15m

  outcome:
    $risk_score = 35
    $event_count = count_distinct($process.metadata.id)
    $unique_command_line_threshold = 5
    // added to populate alert graph with additional context
    // Commented out principal.hostname because it is already represented in graph as match variable. If match changes, can uncomment to add to results
    //$principal_hostname = array_distinct($process.principal.hostname)
    $principal_process_pid = array_distinct($process.principal.process.pid)
    $principal_process_command_line = array_distinct($process.principal.process.command_line)
    $principal_process_file_sha256 = array_distinct($process.principal.process.file.sha256)
    $principal_process_file_full_path = array_distinct($process.principal.process.file.full_path)
    $principal_process_product_specific_process_id = array_distinct($process.principal.process.product_specific_process_id)
    $principal_process_parent_process_product_specific_process_id = array_distinct($process.principal.process.parent_process.product_specific_process_id)
    $target_process_pid = array_distinct($process.target.process.pid)
    $target_process_command_line = array_distinct($process.target.process.command_line)
    $target_process_file_sha256 = array_distinct($process.target.process.file.sha256)
    $target_process_file_full_path = array_distinct($process.target.process.file.full_path)
    $target_process_product_specific_process_id = array_distinct($process.target.process.product_specific_process_id)
    $principal_user_userid = array_distinct($process.principal.user.userid)

  condition:
    // modify the condition value for command line to throttle how many of these commands can be issued until the rule is triggered
    $process and #command_line > 5
}

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: match + condition

match:
    $hostname over 15m
condition:
    $process and #command_line > 5

Fires when at least one $process event in the 15m window and $command_line occurs more than 5 times in the 15m window.

Stage 1: events: $process · PROCESS_LAUNCH

(
    $process.metadata.event_type = "PROCESS_LAUNCH" and
    (
        // cisa report referenced cmd /c in their report throughout, can filter this in/out for tuning as needed
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*arp.*-a`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*curl.*www.ip-api.com`) nocase or
        // the following line is a broader look at dnscmd /enumrecords not explicitly called out in the report can comment out if not needed
        //re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords.*/zone`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumzones`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords.*/additional`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*ipconfig.*/all`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*firewall.*show`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*portproxy.*show`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*portproxy.*show.*v4tov4`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*firewall.*show`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*portproxy.*show.*v4tov4`) nocase or
        re.regex($process.target.process.command_line, `(|cmd.*/c).*netstat.*-ano`) nocase
    )
)
or
    (
        // C2 like Covenant will mask curl command running from PowerShell; added this to detect DNS lookup for this site as another method to identify
        $process.metadata.event_type = "NETWORK_DNS" and
        $process.network.application_protocol = "DNS" and
        $process.network.dns.questions.name = "www.ip-api.com"
    )

$process.principal.hostname = $hostname
$process.target.process.command_line = $command_line

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

FieldKindValues
network.application_protocoleq
  • DNS
network.dns.questions.nameeq
  • www.ip-api.com
target.process.command_lineregex_match
  • (|cmd.*/c).*arp.*-a transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*curl.*www.ip-api.com transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords.*/additional transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumrecords.*/zone transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*dnscmd.*/enumzones transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*ipconfig.*/all transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*firewall.*show transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*firewall.*show transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*portproxy.*show transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*interface.*portproxy.*show.*v4tov4 transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*netsh.*portproxy.*show.*v4tov4 transforms: nocase
  • (|cmd.*/c).*netstat.*-ano transforms: nocase

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

FieldSource
risk_score35
event_countcount_distinct($process.metadata.id)
unique_command_line_threshold5
principal_process_pidarray_distinct($process.principal.process.pid)
principal_process_command_linearray_distinct($process.principal.process.command_line)
principal_process_file_sha256array_distinct($process.principal.process.file.sha256)
principal_process_file_full_patharray_distinct($process.principal.process.file.full_path)
principal_process_product_specific_process_idarray_distinct($process.principal.process.product_specific_process_id)
principal_process_parent_process_product_specific_process_idarray_distinct($process.principal.process.parent_process.product_specific_process_id)
target_process_pidarray_distinct($process.target.process.pid)
target_process_command_linearray_distinct($process.target.process.command_line)
target_process_file_sha256array_distinct($process.target.process.file.sha256)
target_process_file_full_patharray_distinct($process.target.process.file.full_path)
target_process_product_specific_process_idarray_distinct($process.target.process.product_specific_process_id)
principal_user_useridarray_distinct($process.principal.user.userid)