Name:NLTest Domain Trust Discovery id:c3e05466-5f22-11eb-ae93-0242ac130002 version:7 date:2025-03-14 author:Michael Haag, Splunk status:production type:TTP Description:The following analytic identifies the execution of `nltest.exe` with command-line arguments `/domain_trusts` or `/all_trusts` to query Domain Trust information. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process execution logs and command-line arguments. This activity is significant as it indicates potential reconnaissance efforts by adversaries to understand domain trust relationships, which can inform their lateral movement strategies. If confirmed malicious, this activity could enable attackers to map out trusted domains, facilitating further compromise and pivoting within the network. 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 `process_nltest` (Processes.process=*/domain_trusts* OR Processes.process=*/all_trusts*) by Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path Processes.process Processes.process_exec Processes.process_guid Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product | `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `nltest_domain_trust_discovery_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:Administrators may use nltest for troubleshooting purposes, otherwise, rarely used. References: -https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1482/T1482.md -https://malware.news/t/lets-learn-trickbot-implements-network-collector-module-leveraging-cmd-wmi-ldap/19104 -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1482/ -https://owasp.org/www-pdf-archive/Red_Team_Operating_in_a_Modern_Environment.pdf -https://ss64.com/nt/nltest.html -https://redcanary.com/threat-detection-report/techniques/domain-trust-discovery/ -https://thedfirreport.com/2020/10/08/ryuks-return/ 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: - 'Active Directory Discovery' - 'Qakbot' - 'Domain Trust Discovery' - 'Medusa Ransomware' - 'Cleo File Transfer Software' - 'Rhysida Ransomware' - 'IcedID' - 'Ryuk Ransomware' asset_type:Endpoint mitre_attack_id: - 'T1482' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
