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CrowdStrike

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medium threat

Suspicious Instance Metadata Service (IMDS) API Command Line Execution

The rule identifies command-line executions that attempt to access cloud service provider's Instance Metadata Service (IMDS) API endpoints, potentially retrieving sensitive instance information and temporary security credentials, ultimately leading to credential access and privilege escalation within the cloud environment.

exploited Microsoft Defender XDR +4 credential-access cloud imds
2r 4t
high advisory

UAC Bypass Attempt via Windows Directory Masquerading

Detects attempts to bypass User Account Control (UAC) by masquerading as a trusted Microsoft Windows directory, abusing a trailing-space in the path to execute code with elevated privileges.

Elastic Endpoint +4 privilege-escalation uac-bypass windows
2r 1t
high advisory

Persistence via Hidden Run Key Detected

This rule detects a persistence mechanism that utilizes the NtSetValueKey native API to create a hidden (null terminated) registry key, evading detection from system utilities.

Elastic Defend +4 persistence registry windows
2r 1t
high threat

Suspicious ImagePath Service Creation in Registry

Detection of suspicious ImagePath values written to the registry, indicating potential persistence or privilege escalation via abnormal service creation involving command interpreters or named pipes.

Elastic Endgame +4 persistence registry service_creation
2r 1t
high advisory

Suspicious Startup Shell Folder Modification

Detects suspicious modifications to the Windows Startup shell folder, a technique used to bypass detections monitoring file creation in the Windows Startup folder.

Microsoft Defender XDR +4 persistence registry startup
2r 1t
high advisory

Volume Shadow Copy Deletion via WMIC

The rule detects the use of wmic.exe for shadow copy deletion on Windows endpoints, a common tactic used in ransomware or other destructive attacks to inhibit system recovery.

Windows Management Instrumentation +3 impact windows threat-detection
3r 2t
low advisory

Potential File Transfer via Curl for Windows

Adversaries may abuse Curl for Windows to download files or upload data to a remote URL for command and control or exfiltration purposes.

Elastic Defend +3 command-and-control file-transfer windows curl
2r 3t
medium advisory

Suspicious Windows PowerShell Arguments Detected

This rule identifies the execution of PowerShell with suspicious argument values, often observed during malware installation, by detecting unusual PowerShell arguments indicative of abuse, focusing on patterns like encoded commands, suspicious downloads, and obfuscation techniques.

Elastic Defend +5 powershell malware execution
3r 4t
medium advisory

Suspicious Execution via Windows Command Debugging Utility

Adversaries can abuse the Windows command line debugging utility cdb.exe to execute commands or shellcode from non-standard paths, evading traditional security measures.

Microsoft Defender XDR +5 lolbas defense-evasion windows
2r 2t
low advisory

Potential Secure File Deletion via SDelete Utility

This rule detects file name patterns generated by the use of Sysinternals SDelete utility, potentially used by attackers to delete forensic indicators and hinder data recovery efforts.

Microsoft Defender XDR +3 defense evasion impact windows
2r 2t
medium advisory

DNS Global Query Block List Modified or Disabled

Attackers with DNSAdmin privileges can modify or disable the DNS Global Query Block List (GQBL) in Windows, allowing exploitation of hosts running WPAD with default settings for privilege escalation and lateral movement.

Elastic Defend +4 defense-evasion registry-modification windows
2r 3t
low advisory

Microsoft Office 'Office Test' Registry Persistence Abuse

Attackers modify the Microsoft Office 'Office Test' Registry key to achieve persistence by specifying a malicious DLL that executes upon application startup.

Microsoft Office +4 persistence registry windows
2r 2t
high advisory

Unusual Executable File Creation by a System Critical Process

The rule identifies unexpected executable file creation or modification by critical Windows processes, potentially indicating remote code execution or exploitation attempts.

Microsoft Defender XDR +3 defense-evasion execution windows
2r 1t
medium advisory

Windows Script Execution from Archive File

This rule identifies attempts to execute Jscript/Vbscript files from an archive file, a common delivery method for malicious scripts on Windows systems.

M365 Defender +2 execution windows scripting archive
2r 3t
medium advisory

Executable File Creation with Multiple Extensions

Detection of executable files created with multiple extensions, a masquerading technique to evade defenses.

Elastic Defend +3 defense-evasion execution masquerading windows
2r 2t
high advisory

Credential Acquisition via Registry Hive Dumping

Detects attempts to export sensitive Windows registry hives (SAM/SECURITY) using reg.exe, potentially leading to credential compromise.

Elastic Endgame +6 credential-access registry-dump windows
2r 1t
medium advisory

Process Activity via Compiled HTML File Execution

Adversaries may conceal malicious code in compiled HTML files (.chm) and deliver them to a victim for execution, using the HTML Help executable (hh.exe) to proxy the execution of scripting interpreters and bypass security controls.

Microsoft HTML Help system +5 execution defense-evasion compiled-html windows proxy-execution
2r 5t
medium advisory

Symbolic Link Creation to Shadow Copies for Credential Access

Adversaries may create symbolic links to shadow copies to access sensitive files such as ntds.dit and browser credentials, enabling credential dumping using cmd.exe or powershell.exe.

Microsoft Defender XDR +3 credential-access defense-evasion windows
2r 3t
high advisory

Potential Fake CAPTCHA Phishing Attack via Command Line

This rule detects potential fake CAPTCHA phishing attacks on Windows systems where victims are tricked into copying and pasting malicious commands into the Windows Run dialog box.

Microsoft Defender XDR +2 phishing captcha social-engineering windows
2r 2t
high advisory

Mimikatz MemSSP Log File Detection

This rule detects the creation of the default Mimikatz MemSSP credential log file, mimilsa.log, which is created after the misc::memssp module injects a malicious Security Support Provider into LSASS, potentially capturing credentials from subsequent logons.

Elastic Defend +3 credential-access mimikatz memssp windows
2r 1t 1i
high advisory

Suspicious Execution from WebDAV Share

This rule detects attempts to execute content from remote WebDAV shares, where attackers may abuse WebDAV paths, public tunnels, or host@port UNC paths to execute tools or scripts, reducing local staging on the victim's file system.

Windows +5 execution webdav threat_detection
2r 1t
medium advisory

Windows Subsystem for Linux Enabled via Dism Utility

Adversaries may enable and use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) using the Microsoft Dism utility to evade detection on Windows systems by running Linux applications and tools.

Microsoft Defender XDR +2 defense-evasion wsl windows
2r 1t
medium advisory

Windows Host Network Discovery Enabled via Netsh

Attackers can enable host network discovery via netsh.exe to weaken host firewall settings, facilitating lateral movement by identifying other systems on the network.

Microsoft Defender XDR +3 defense-evasion windows firewall
2r 1t
medium advisory

Windows Firewall Disabled via PowerShell

Attackers may disable the Windows firewall or its rules using the `Set-NetFirewallProfile` PowerShell cmdlet to enable lateral movement and command and control activity.

Microsoft Defender XDR +3 defense-evasion powershell firewall windows
2r 2t
medium advisory

Windows Defender Exclusions Added via PowerShell

Adversaries may attempt to bypass Windows Defender's capabilities by using PowerShell to add exclusions for folders or processes, and this activity can be detected by monitoring PowerShell command lines that use `Add-MpPreference` or `Set-MpPreference` with exclusion parameters.

Microsoft Defender XDR +3 defense-evasion powershell windows
2r 3t
medium advisory

Suspicious Mofcomp Activity

This rule detects suspicious mofcomp.exe activity, which attackers may leverage MOF files to manipulate the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) repository for execution and persistence by filtering out legitimate processes and focusing on unusual executions, excluding known safe parent processes and system accounts.

Elastic Defend +4 execution persistence windows
2r 2t
medium advisory

Signed Proxy Execution via MS Work Folders

Attackers can abuse Windows Work Folders to execute a masqueraded control.exe file from untrusted locations, potentially bypassing application controls for defense evasion and privilege escalation.

Windows Work Folders +3 defense-evasion masquerading windows
2r 3t
medium advisory

Registry Persistence via AppCert DLL Modification

Detection of registry modifications related to AppCert DLLs, a persistence mechanism where malicious DLLs are loaded by every process using common API functions.

Elastic Defend +3 persistence privilege-escalation appcert-dll
2r 2t
medium advisory

Rare Connection to WebDAV Target via Rundll32

This rule identifies rare connection attempts to a Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) resource, where attackers may inject WebDAV paths in files opened by a victim to leak NTLM credentials via forced authentication using rundll32.exe.

Microsoft Defender XDR +2 credential-access webdav windows
2r 2t
medium advisory

New ActiveSync Allowed Device Added via PowerShell

The rule detects the use of the Exchange PowerShell cmdlet, Set-CASMailbox, to add a new ActiveSync allowed device, potentially allowing attackers to gain persistent access to sensitive email data by adding unauthorized devices.

Microsoft Defender XDR +4 exchange activesync powershell persistence
2r 3t
medium advisory

MSBuild Started by System Process for Defense Evasion and Execution

Adversaries are leveraging MSBuild, a Microsoft Build Engine, to execute malicious code by initiating it from system processes such as Explorer or WMI to evade defenses and execute unauthorized actions.

Elastic Defend +3 defense-evasion execution msbuild proxy-execution windows
2r 2t
high advisory

Mimikatz MemSSP Log File Detection

Detects the creation of 'mimilsa.log', the default log file created by the Mimikatz MemSSP module after injecting a malicious Security Support Provider into LSASS, potentially exposing credentials from subsequent logons on the host.

Microsoft Defender XDR +4 credential-access mimikatz lsass windows
2r 1t 1i
medium advisory

Encoded Executable Stored in the Registry

This rule detects registry write modifications hiding encoded portable executables, indicative of adversary defense evasion by avoiding storing malicious content directly on disk.

Elastic Defend +3 defense-evasion registry windows
2r 3t 1i
high advisory

Disabling LSA Protection via Registry Modification

Adversaries may modify the RunAsPPL registry key to disable LSA protection, which prevents nonprotected processes from reading memory and injecting code, potentially leading to credential access.

Elastic Defend +3 defense-evasion windows registry
2r 1t
high advisory

Command Obfuscation via Unicode Modifier Letters

Adversaries use Unicode modifier letters to obfuscate command-line arguments, evading string-based detections on common Windows utilities like PowerShell and cmd.exe.

Microsoft Defender XDR +5 defense-evasion command-line unicode obfuscation
2r 1t
high advisory

Control Panel Process with Unusual Arguments

Adversaries may abuse control.exe to proxy execution of malicious code by using the Control Panel process to execute payloads from unusual locations, detected by identifying suspicious keywords or paths in the process command line.

Elastic Defend +3 defense-evasion proxy-execution windows
2r 1t
medium advisory

Suspicious .NET Code Compilation via Unusual Parent Processes

Adversaries may use unusual parent processes to execute .NET compilers for compiling malicious code after delivery, evading security mechanisms, and this activity is detected by monitoring compiler executions initiated by scripting engines or system utilities.

Microsoft Defender XDR +3 defense-evasion compile-after-delivery windows
2r 3t
medium advisory

Netsh Used to Enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in Windows Firewall

Adversaries may use the `netsh.exe` utility to enable inbound Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections in the Windows Firewall, potentially allowing unauthorized remote access to compromised systems.

Windows Firewall +4 defense-evasion lateral-movement windows netsh rdp
2r 2t