Name:ESXi Sensitive Files Accessed id:6fa0073d-6ca0-4f93-913d-fb420c9de15b version:1 date:2025-05-19 author:Raven Tait, Splunk status:production type:TTP Description:This detection identifies access to sensitive system and configuration files on an ESXi host, including authentication data, service configurations, and VMware-specific management settings. Interaction with these files may indicate adversary reconnaissance, credential harvesting, or preparation for privilege escalation, lateral movement, or persistence. Data_source:
-VMWare ESXi Syslog
search:`esxi_syslog` Message="*shell[*" Message IN ("*/etc/shadow*","*/etc/vmware/hostd/hostd.xml*", "*/etc/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg*","*/etc/sfcb/sfcb.cfg*","*/etc/security/*", "*/etc/likewise/krb5-affinity.conf*","*/etc/vmware-vpx/vcdb.properties*") | rex field=_raw "\]: \[(?<user>\w+)\]:(?<command>.+)" | rex field=_raw "Z (?<dest>[\w\.]+)\s" | stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime count by dest user command | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `esxi_sensitive_files_accessed_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:Administrators may access these files for initial setup or troubleshooting. Limited in most environments. Tune as needed. References: 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: - 'T1003.008' - 'T1005' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
