Name:ESXi Audit Tampering id:c48a155b-2861-417a-813c-220f5272cf01 version:1 date:2025-07-01 author:Raven Tait, Splunk status:production type:TTP Description:This detection identifies the use of the esxcli system auditrecords commands, which can be used to tamper with logging on an ESXi host. This action may indicate an attempt to evade detection or hinder forensic analysis by preventing the recording of system-level audit events. Data_source:
-VMWare ESXi Syslog
search:`esxi_syslog` Message="*esxcli system auditrecords*" Message IN ("*remote*","*local*") NOT Message = "*[shell*" | rex field=_raw "Z (?<dest>[\w\.]+)\s" | rex field=_raw "[\w+]\]: (?<full_command>.*)" | rex field=full_command "\[(?<user>.*)]:\s(?<command>.*)" | stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime count by dest user command | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `esxi_audit_tampering_filter`
how_to_implement:This is based on syslog data generated by VMware ESXi hosts. To implement this search, you must configure your ESXi systems to forward syslog output to your Splunk deployment. These logs must be ingested with the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-on for VMware ESXi Logs, which provides field extractions and CIM compatibility. known_false_positives:Limited false positives in most environments, however tune as needed. References: -https://detect.fyi/detecting-and-responding-to-esxi-compromise-with-splunk-f33998ce7823 drilldown_searches: name:'View the detection results for - "$dest$"' search:'%original_detection_search% | search dest = "$dest$"' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"' search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") starthoursago=168 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' tags: analytic_story: - 'ESXi Post Compromise' - 'Black Basta Ransomware' asset_type:Infrastructure mitre_attack_id: - 'T1562.003' - 'T1070' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
