Name:Windows Command and Scripting Interpreter Hunting Path Traversal id:d0026380-b3c4-4da0-ac8e-02790063ff6b version:7 date:2026-01-10 author:Teoderick Contreras, Michael Haag, Splunk status:production type:Hunting Description:The following analytic identifies path traversal command-line executions,
leveraging data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. It detects patterns
in command-line arguments indicative of path traversal techniques, such as multiple
instances of "/..", "\..", or "\\..". This activity is significant as it often indicates
attempts to evade defenses by executing malicious code, such as through msdt.exe.
If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to execute arbitrary
code, potentially leading to system compromise, data exfiltration, or further lateral
movement 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 Processes.process IN ("*\\..*", "*//..*", "*\..*", "*/..*") 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
| search count_of_pattern1 > 1 OR count_of_pattern2 > 1 OR count_of_pattern3 > 1 OR count_of_pattern4 > 1 | `windows_command_and_scripting_interpreter_hunting_path_traversal_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:False positives may vary depending on the score you want to check.
References: -https://app.any.run/tasks/713f05d2-fe78-4b9d-a744-f7c133e3fafb/ drilldown_searches:
: tags: analytic_story: - 'Windows Defense Evasion Tactics' - 'Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool Vulnerability CVE-2022-30190' asset_type:Endpoint mitre_attack_id: - 'T1059' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
