Detection rules › Elastic

Tclsh Execution followed by immediate Network Connection

Time window
15s
Sequence by
process.entity_id
Source
github.com/elastic/protections-artifacts

Detects the execution of the tclsh binary followed by an immediate network connection by tclsh linked by the process.entity_id value. Tclsh is a shell-like application that reads Tcl commands from its standard input or from a file and evaluates them. Tcl is a high-level programming language. It is still a default installation as of macOS 12 Monterey, making it an ideal candidate for payload execution.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Telemetry coverage

Rule body

[rule]
description = """
Detects the execution of the tclsh binary followed by an immediate network connection by tclsh linked by the
process.entity_id value. Tclsh is a shell-like application that reads Tcl commands from its standard input or from a
file and evaluates them. Tcl is a high-level programming language. It is still a default installation as of macOS 12
Monterey, making it an ideal candidate for payload execution.
"""
id = "ac1eaed8-2aee-48d7-9824-2be1f00eda0e"
license = "Elastic License v2"
name = "Tclsh Execution followed by immediate Network Connection"
os_list = ["macos"]
reference = ["https://posts.specterops.io/dylib-loads-that-tickle-your-fancy-d25196addd8c"]
version = "1.0.21"

query = '''
sequence by process.entity_id with maxspan=15s
[process where event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and process.name like~ "tclsh*" and
  not process.parent.executable like "/usr/bin/sudo"]
[network where event.type == "start" and process.name like~ "tclsh*"]
'''

min_endpoint_version = "8.16.0"
optional_actions = []
[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.entity_id"
state = 0

[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.parent.entity_id"
state = 0

[[threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[threat.technique]]
id = "T1059"
name = "Command and Scripting Interpreter"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/"


[threat.tactic]
id = "TA0002"
name = "Execution"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/"

[internal]
min_endpoint_version = "8.16.0"

Stages and Predicates

Ordered sequence: each step below must occur in order within 15s, correlated by process.entity_id.

Stage 1: process

[process where event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and process.name like~ "tclsh*" and
  not process.parent.executable like "/usr/bin/sudo"]

Stage 2: network

[network where event.type == "start" and process.name like~ "tclsh*"]

Exclusions

The rule actively suppresses these predicates.

FieldKindExcluded valuesSearch
process.parent.executableeq/usr/bin/sudoexcludes:process.parent.executable field:"process.parent.executable" value:"/usr/bin/sudo"

Indicators

These rows show field, operator, and value matches.