Potential CobaltStrike Process Patterns — Sigma Rule

Rule metadata and linked tags

Author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems). Source status: test; severity: high. Source dates: 2021-07-27 / 2023-03-29.

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

Pinned original Sigma rule · Detection Rule License 1.1

Source SHA-256: 6de1df3583feec2e612cd413230663a9e7734ecbdb90c96d09a91adbdeb1bc10

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 CobaltStrike Process Patterns
id: f35c5d71-b489-4e22-a115-f003df287317
status: test
description: Detects potential process patterns related to Cobalt Strike beacon activity
references:
    - https://hausec.com/2021/07/26/cobalt-strike-and-tradecraft/
    - https://thedfirreport.com/2021/08/29/cobalt-strike-a-defenders-guide/
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2021-07-27
modified: 2023-03-29
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.t1059
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_generic_1:
        CommandLine|endswith: 'cmd.exe /C whoami'
        ParentImage|startswith: 'C:\Temp\'
    selection_generic_2:
        ParentImage|endswith:
            - '\runonce.exe'
            - '\dllhost.exe'
        CommandLine|contains|all:
            - 'cmd.exe /c echo'
            - '> \\\\.\\pipe'
    selection_conhost_1:
        ParentCommandLine|contains|all:
            - 'cmd.exe /C echo'
            - ' > \\\\.\\pipe'
        CommandLine|endswith: 'conhost.exe 0xffffffff -ForceV1'
    selection_conhost_2:
        ParentCommandLine|endswith: '/C whoami'
        CommandLine|endswith: 'conhost.exe 0xffffffff -ForceV1'
    condition: 1 of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: high

Original YAML and metadata in JSON

False positives

• Unknown

Source references

• https://hausec.com/2021/07/26/cobalt-strike-and-tradecraft/
• https://thedfirreport.com/2021/08/29/cobalt-strike-a-defenders-guide/