Detection: ConnectWise ScreenConnect Authentication Bypass

Updated Date: 2024-05-24 ID: d3f7a803-e802-448b-8eb2-e796b223bfff Author: Michael Haag, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects attempts to exploit the ConnectWise ScreenConnect CVE-2024-1709 vulnerability, which allows attackers to bypass authentication via an alternate path or channel. It leverages web request logs to identify access to the SetupWizard.aspx page, indicating potential exploitation. This activity is significant as it can lead to unauthorized administrative access and remote code execution. If confirmed malicious, attackers could create administrative users and gain full control over the affected system, posing severe security risks. Immediate remediation by updating to version 23.9.8 or above is recommended.

Search

1
2| tstats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Web where Web.url IN ("*/SetupWizard.aspx/*","*/SetupWizard/") Web.status=200 Web.http_method=POST by Web.src, Web.dest, Web.http_user_agent, Web.url, Web.status, Web.http_method, sourcetype, source 
3| rex field=Web.url "/SetupWizard.aspx/(?<randomPath>.+)" 
4| `drop_dm_object_name("Web")` 
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
7| `connectwise_screenconnect_authentication_bypass_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source	Supported App
Suricata	N/A	`'suricata'`	`'suricata'`	N/A

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
connectwise_screenconnect_authentication_bypass_filter	`search *`

connectwise_screenconnect_authentication_bypass_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
T1190	Exploit Public-Facing Application	Initial Access

KillChainPhase.DELIVERY

NistCategory.DE_CM

Cis18Value.CIS_13

APT28

APT29

APT39

APT41

APT5

Axiom

BackdoorDiplomacy

BlackTech

Blue Mockingbird

Cinnamon Tempest

Dragonfly

Earth Lusca

FIN13

FIN7

Fox Kitten

GALLIUM

GOLD SOUTHFIELD

HAFNIUM

Ke3chang

Kimsuky

Magic Hound

Moses Staff

MuddyWater

Rocke

Sandworm Team

Threat Group-3390

ToddyCat

Volatile Cedar

Volt Typhoon

menuPass

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

To implement this analytic, ensure proper logging is occurring with IIS, Apache, or a Proxy server and that these logs are being ingested into Splunk. The analytic was written against Suricata. The proper TA will need to be enabled and should be mapped to CIM and the Web datamodel. Ingestion of the data source is required to utilize this detection. In addition, if it is not mapped to the datamodel, modify the query for your application logs to look for requests the same URI and investigate further.

Known False Positives

False positives are not expected, as the detection is based on the presence of web requests to the SetupWizard.aspx page, which is not a common page to be accessed by legitimate users. Note that the analytic is limited to HTTP POST and a status of 200 to reduce false positives. Modify the query as needed to reduce false positives or hunt for additional indicators of compromise.

Associated Analytic Story

ConnectWise ScreenConnect Vulnerabilities

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
An authentication bypass attempt against ScreenConnect has been detected on $dest$.	100	100	100

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	`suricata`	`suricata`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`suricata`	`suricata`

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