Name:Windows Net System Service Discovery id:dd7da098-83b8-4c48-b09d-e51aeb621e81 version:1 date:2025-08-25 author:Teoderick Contreras, Splunk status:production type:Anomaly Description:The following analytic detects the enumeration of Windows services using the net start command, which is a built-in utility that lists all running services on a system. Adversaries, system administrators, or automated tools may use this command to gain situational awareness of what services are active, identify potential security software, or discover opportunities for privilege escalation and lateral movement. The execution of net start is often associated with reconnaissance activity during the early stages of an intrusion, as attackers attempt to map out the system’s defense mechanisms and operational services. By monitoring process execution for instances of cmd.exe /c net start or similar command-line usage, defenders can detect potentially suspicious activity. Correlating this behavior with other reconnaissance commands, such as tasklist or sc query, strengthens detection fidelity. While net start is not inherently malicious, unusual or repeated use in non-administrative contexts should be flagged for further investigation. 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_net` AND Processes.process="* start*" 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)` | `windows_net_system_service_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 or power users may use this command for troubleshooting. References: -https://cert.gov.ua/article/6284730 drilldown_searches: name:'View the detection results for - "$user$" and "$dest$"' search:'%original_detection_search% | search user = "$user$" dest = "$dest$"' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$" and "$dest$"' search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$", "$dest$") 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: - 'LAMEHUG' asset_type:Endpoint mitre_attack_id: - 'T1007' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
