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Powershell Load Module in Meterpreter

Author
Michael Haag, Splunk
Source
upstream

The following analytic detects the execution of suspicious PowerShell commands associated with Meterpreter modules, such as "MSF.Powershell" and "MSF.Powershell.Meterpreter". It leverages PowerShell Script Block Logging (EventCode=4104) to capture and analyze the full command sent to PowerShell. This activity is significant as it indicates potential post-exploitation actions, including credential dumping and persistence mechanisms. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could gain extensive control over the compromised system, escalate privileges, and maintain long-term access, posing a severe threat to the environment.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
ExecutionT1059.001 Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
PowerShell4104Creating Scriptblock text (MessageNumber of MessageTotal).

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

search EventCode=4104 ScriptBlockText IN ("*MSF.Powershell*", "*MSF.Powershell.Meterpreter*", "*MSF.Powershell.Meterpreter.Kiwi*", "*MSF.Powershell.Meterpreter.Transport*")

Stage 2: fillnull

fillnull

Stage 3: stats

stats BY dest, signature, signature_id, user_id, vendor_product, EventID, Guid, Opcode, Name, Path, ProcessID, ScriptBlockId, ScriptBlockText

Stage 4: search

search

Stage 5: search

search

Stage 6: search

search `macro`

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
EventCodeeq
  • 4104 corpus 108 (splunk 108)
ScriptBlockTextin
  • "*MSF.Powershell*"
  • "*MSF.Powershell.Meterpreter*"
  • "*MSF.Powershell.Meterpreter.Kiwi*"
  • "*MSF.Powershell.Meterpreter.Transport*"

Neighbors

Broader alternatives (more inclusive than this rule)

These rules match a superset of what this rule catches. They cover the same events plus more. Use them if you want wider coverage and can absorb more false positives.