Potential Persistence Via VMwareToolBoxCmd.EXE VM State Change Script — Sigma Rule

Rule metadata and linked tags

Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems). Source status: test; severity: medium. Source dates: 2023-06-14 / not supplied.

{
  "category": "process_creation",
  "product": "windows"
}

Pinned original Sigma rule · Detection Rule License 1.1

Source SHA-256: 16c7d14f19b8ed0e953e3d7fb2042ce8fed6de05c6422c67f67a17b9f74ae625

Detection logic

Original source YAML. Source-tag agreement is not proof of complete semantic coverage. This rule has not been compiled for a SIEM backend or validated against live telemetry here.

title: Potential Persistence Via VMwareToolBoxCmd.EXE VM State Change Script
id: 7aa4e81a-a65c-4e10-9f81-b200eb229d7d
related:
    - id: 236d8e89-ed95-4789-a982-36f4643738ba
      type: derived
status: test
description: Detects execution of the "VMwareToolBoxCmd.exe" with the "script" and "set" flag to setup a specific script to run for a specific VM state
references:
    - https://bohops.com/2021/10/08/analyzing-and-detecting-a-vmtools-persistence-technique/
    - https://www.hexacorn.com/blog/2017/01/14/beyond-good-ol-run-key-part-53/
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2023-06-14
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1059
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\VMwareToolBoxCmd.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'toolbox-cmd.exe'
    selection_cli:
        CommandLine|contains|all:
            - ' script '
            - ' set '
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium

Original YAML and metadata in JSON

False positives

• Unknown

Source references

• https://bohops.com/2021/10/08/analyzing-and-detecting-a-vmtools-persistence-technique/
• https://www.hexacorn.com/blog/2017/01/14/beyond-good-ol-run-key-part-53/