Detection: Domain Account Discovery With Net App

Description

The following analytic detects the execution of net.exe or net1.exe with command-line arguments used to query domain users. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names and command-line executions. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attempt by adversaries to enumerate domain users for situational awareness and Active Directory discovery. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to map out user accounts, potentially leading to further exploitation or lateral movement within the network.

1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where `process_net` AND Processes.process = "* user*" AND Processes.process = "*/do*" by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name 
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
6| `domain_account_discovery_with_net_app_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source Supported App
CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2 N/A 'crowdstrike:events:sensor' 'crowdstrike' N/A

Macros Used

Name Value
process_net (Processes.process_name="net.exe" OR Processes.original_file_name="net.exe" OR Processes.process_name="net1.exe" OR Processes.original_file_name="net1.exe")
domain_account_discovery_with_net_app_filter search *
domain_account_discovery_with_net_app_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
T1087.002 Domain Account Discovery
T1087 Account Discovery Discovery
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT41
BRONZE BUTLER
Chimera
Dragonfly
FIN13
FIN6
Fox Kitten
Ke3chang
LAPSUS$
MuddyWater
OilRig
Poseidon Group
Sandworm Team
Scattered Spider
ToddyCat
Turla
Volt Typhoon
Wizard Spider
menuPass
FIN13

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 Notable Yes
Rule Title %name%
Rule Description %description%
Notable Event Fields user, dest
Creates Risk Event True
This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

Implementation

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.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
an instance of process $process_name$ with commandline $process$ in $dest$ 25 50 50
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

References

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation Passing N/A N/A N/A
Unit Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational xmlwineventlog
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/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: 3