GitHub Repo

Esxi Stolen Root Account

Date: 2025-07-09 ID: a61432b5-65c6-4509-b44a-3c176fa00d86 Author: Raven Tait, Splunk Environment: custom Directory: esxi_stolen_root_account

Description

Sample of ESXi syslog events showing root logins from multple locations in quick succession.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

ID Technique Tactic
T1078 Valid Accounts Defense Evasion, Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation

Environment Details

Field Value
Environment custom
Directory esxi_stolen_root_account
Test Date 2025-07-09

Datasets

The following datasets were collected during this attack simulation:

Vmw-Syslog

  • Path: /datasets/attack_techniques/T1078/esxi_stolen_root_account/esxi_stolen_root_account.log
  • Sourcetype: vmw-syslog
  • Source: vmw-syslog

The following detections in our security content repository use this attack data for testing:

Detection Name Type Source MITRE ATT&CK Analytic Story
ESXi Shared or Stolen Root Account Anomaly Application T1078 ESXi Post Compromise, Black Basta Ransomware

Usage Instructions

Replay with Splunk Attack Data

Replay attack data with replay.py from Splunk Attack Data.

1python replay.py --dataset /datasets/attack_techniques/T1078/esxi_stolen_root_account/esxi_stolen_root_account.log --index attack_data

Manual Import

  1. Download the dataset files from the paths listed above
  2. Configure your Splunk instance with the appropriate sourcetypes
  3. Import the logs using the Splunk Add Data wizard

Related Content

Find more detections and analytics for this attack technique in our security content repository.

Source: GitHub | Version: 1.0