Detection: SearchProtocolHost with no Command Line with Network

Description

The following analytic detects instances of searchprotocolhost.exe running without command line arguments but with an active network connection. This behavior is identified using Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) telemetry, focusing on process execution and network traffic data. It is significant because searchprotocolhost.exe typically runs with specific command line arguments, and deviations from this norm can indicate malicious activity, such as Cobalt Strike usage. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to establish network connections for command and control, potentially leading to data exfiltration or further system compromise.

Search

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.process_name=searchprotocolhost.exe by _time span=1h  Processes.process_id Processes.process_name Processes.dest Processes.process_path Processes.process Processes.parent_process_name 
 3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` 
 4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
 5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
 6| regex process="(?i)(searchprotocolhost\.exe.{0,4}$)" 
 7| join  process_id [
 8| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Network_Traffic.All_Traffic where All_Traffic.dest_port != 0 by All_Traffic.process_id All_Traffic.dest All_Traffic.dest_port 
 9| `drop_dm_object_name(All_Traffic)` 
10| rename dest as C2 ] 
11| table _time dest parent_process_name process_name process_path process process_id dest_port C2 
12| `searchprotocolhost_with_no_command_line_with_network_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source	Supported App
Sysmon EventID 1	Windows	'xmlwineventlog'	'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'	N/A

Macros Used

Annotations

Default Configuration

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

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

Limited false positives may be present in small environments. Tuning may be required based on parent process.

Associated Analytic Story

• BlackByte Ransomware

• Cobalt Strike

• Graceful Wipe Out Attack

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

References

• https://github.com/mandiant/red_team_tool_countermeasures/blob/master/rules/PGF/supplemental/hxioc/SUSPICIOUS%20EXECUTION%20OF%20SEARCHPROTOCOLHOST%20(METHODOLOGY).ioc

Detection Testing

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: 4