Detection rules › Elastic
Renamed Third Party Administrator Tools
Identifies third party administrative tools commonly used by adversaries but running with unexpected file names.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Stealth |
Rule body
[rule]
description = "Identifies third party administrative tools commonly used by adversaries but running with unexpected file names."
id = "b707de5c-8e4d-4d2c-be22-b09a7e82b73f"
license = "Elastic License v2"
name = "Renamed Third Party Administrator Tools"
os_list = ["windows"]
version = "1.0.33"
query = '''
process where event.action == "start" and
(
(process.pe.original_file_name : "procdump" and
process.code_signature.subject_name == "Microsoft Corporation" and not process.name : "*procdump*.exe") or
(process.pe.original_file_name : "psexec.c" and process.code_signature.subject_name == "Microsoft Corporation" and not process.name : "*psexec*.exe") or
(process.pe.original_file_name : "sdelete.exe" and process.code_signature.subject_name == "Microsoft Corporation" and not process.name : "*sdelete*")
) and
not process.executable :
("?:\\Windows\\System32\\*.exe",
"?:\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\*.exe",
"?:\\Program Files (x86)\\*.exe",
"?:\\Program Files\\*.exe")
'''
min_endpoint_version = "7.15.0"
[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.entity_id"
state = 0
[[optional_actions]]
action = "rollback"
field = "process.entity_id"
state = 0
[[threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[threat.technique]]
id = "T1036"
name = "Masquerading"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1036/"
[[threat.technique.subtechnique]]
id = "T1036.003"
name = "Rename Legitimate Utilities"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1036/003/"
[threat.tactic]
id = "TA0005"
name = "Defense Evasion"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/"
[internal]
min_endpoint_version = "7.15.0"
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: process
process where event.action == "start" and
(
(process.pe.original_file_name : "procdump" and
process.code_signature.subject_name == "Microsoft Corporation" and not process.name : "*procdump*.exe") or
(process.pe.original_file_name : "psexec.c" and process.code_signature.subject_name == "Microsoft Corporation" and not process.name : "*psexec*.exe") or
(process.pe.original_file_name : "sdelete.exe" and process.code_signature.subject_name == "Microsoft Corporation" and not process.name : "*sdelete*")
) and
not process.executable :
("?:\\Windows\\System32\\*.exe",
"?:\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\*.exe",
"?:\\Program Files (x86)\\*.exe",
"?:\\Program Files\\*.exe")
Exclusions
The rule actively suppresses these predicates.
| Field | Kind | Excluded values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
process.executable | wildcard | ?:\Windows\System32\*.exe, ?:\Windows\SysWOW64\*.exe, ?:\Program Files (x86)\*.exe, ?:\Program Files\*.exe | excludes:process.executable |
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
event.action | eq |
| field:"EventType" kind:eq value:"start" |
process.code_signature.subject_name | eq |
| field:"Signature" kind:eq value:"Microsoft Corporation" |
process.pe.original_file_name | wildcard |
| field:"OriginalFileName" kind:wildcard |