Detection: Windows PowerShell Invoke-RestMethod IP Information Collection

Updated Date: 2025-05-02 ID: 8db47e12-9c3e-4f5a-b0d6-e42a1895cd4f Author: Michael Haag, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the use of PowerShell's Invoke-RestMethod cmdlet to collect geolocation data from ipinfo.io or IP address information from api.ipify.org. This behavior leverages PowerShell Script Block Logging to identify scripts that gather external IP information and potential geolocation data. This activity is significant as it may indicate reconnaissance efforts, where threat actors are attempting to determine the geographical location or network details of a compromised system. While some legitimate software may use these services, this pattern is commonly observed in malware and post-exploitation toolkits like those used by Water Gamayun threat actors.

Search

1`powershell` EventCode=4104 (ScriptBlockText="*Invoke-RestMethod*" AND (ScriptBlockText="*ipinfo.io*" OR ScriptBlockText="*api.ipify.org*")) 
2| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by dest signature signature_id user_id vendor_product Guid Opcode Name Path ProcessID ScriptBlockId ScriptBlockText 
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5| `windows_powershell_invoke_restmethod_ip_information_collection_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Powershell Script Block Logging 4104	Windows	`'xmlwineventlog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
powershell	`(source=WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational OR source="XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational" OR source=WinEventLog:PowerShellCore/Operational OR source="XmlWinEventLog:PowerShellCore/Operational")`
windows_powershell_invoke_restmethod_ip_information_collection_filter	`search *`

windows_powershell_invoke_restmethod_ip_information_collection_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1082	System Information Discovery	Discovery
T1016	System Network Configuration Discovery	Discovery
T1059.001	PowerShell	Execution

Exploitation

Installation

DE.AE

CIS 10

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`0 * * * *`
Earliest Time	`-70m@m`
Latest Time	`-10m@m`
Schedule Window	`auto`
Creates Risk Event	True

This configuration file applies to all detections of type anomaly. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting.

Implementation

To successfully implement this analytic, you will need to enable PowerShell Script Block Logging on some or all endpoints. Additional setup here https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/UBA/5.0.4.1/GetDataIn/AddPowerShell#Configure_module_logging_for_PowerShell.

Known False Positives

Some legitimate applications or administrative scripts may use these services for IP validation or geolocation. Filter as needed for approved administrative tools.

Associated Analytic Story

Water Gamayun

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message:

A PowerShell script on $dest$ is collecting external IP or geolocation information using Invoke-RestMethod.

Risk Object	Risk Object Type	Risk Score	Threat Objects
dest	system	45	No Threat Objects

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub | Version: 2