Impacket Lateral Movement WMIExec Commandline Parameters

Original Source: [splunk source]
Name:Impacket Lateral Movement WMIExec Commandline Parameters
id:d6e464e4-5c6a-474e-82d2-aed616a3a492
version:4
date:2024-11-28
author:Michael Haag, Splunk
status:production
type:TTP
Description:The following analytic detects the use of Impacket's `wmiexec.py` tool for lateral movement by identifying specific command-line parameters. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on processes spawned by `wmiprvse.exe` with command-line patterns indicative of Impacket usage. This activity is significant as Impacket tools are commonly used by adversaries for remote code execution and lateral movement within a network. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute arbitrary commands on remote systems, potentially leading to further compromise and data exfiltration.
Data_source:
  • -Sysmon EventID 1
  • -Windows Event Log Security 4688
  • -CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search:| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.parent_process_name=wmiprvse.exe by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id
| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
| where match(process, "(?i)cmd\.exe\s+\/Q\s+\/c") AND match(process, "\\\\127\.0\.0\.1\\.*") AND match(process, "__\\d{1,10}\\.\\d{1,10}")
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`| `impacket_lateral_movement_wmiexec_commandline_parameters_filter`


how_to_implement:The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the `Processes` node of the `Endpoint` data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
known_false_positives:Although uncommon, Administrators may leverage Impackets tools to start a process on remote systems for system administration or automation use cases.
References:
  -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1021/002/
  -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1021/003/
  -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1047/
  -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1053/
  -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1053/005/
  -https://github.com/SecureAuthCorp/impacket
  -https://vk9-sec.com/impacket-remote-code-execution-rce-on-windows-from-linux/
  -https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2022/01/15/destructive-malware-targeting-ukrainian-organizations/
  -https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/05/24/volt-typhoon-targets-us-critical-infrastructure-with-living-off-the-land-techniques/
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:
    - 'WhisperGate'
    - 'Gozi Malware'
    - 'Active Directory Lateral Movement'
    - 'Volt Typhoon'
    - 'Prestige Ransomware'
    - 'Industroyer2'
    - 'Data Destruction'
    - 'Graceful Wipe Out Attack'
    - 'Compromised Windows Host'
    - 'CISA AA22-277A'
  asset_type:Endpoint
  atomic_guid:
  confidence:70
  impact:90
  message:Suspicious command-line parameters on $dest$ may represent lateral movement using wmiexec.
  mitre_attack_id:
    - 'T1021'
    - 'T1021.002'
    - 'T1021.003'
    - 'T1047'
    - 'T1543.003'
  observable:
    name:'dest'
    type:'Endpoint'
    - role:
      - 'Victim'
  product:
    - 'Splunk Enterprise'
    - 'Splunk Enterprise Security'
    - 'Splunk Cloud'
  required_fields:
    - 'Processes.process_name'
    - 'Processes.dest'
    - 'Processes.user'
    - 'Processes.parent_process_name'
    - 'Processes.process'
    - 'Processes.process_id'
    - 'Processes.parent_process_id'
  risk_score:63
  security_domain:endpoint

tests:
name:'True Positive Test'
 attack_data:
  data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1021.002/atomic_red_team/wmiexec_windows-sysmon.log
  source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
  sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
manual_test:None