Detection rules › Elastic
Tclsh Execution followed by immediate Network Connection
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
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Execution |
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.
| Field | Kind | Excluded values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
process.parent.executable | eq | /usr/bin/sudo | excludes:process.parent.executable field:"process.parent.executable" value:"/usr/bin/sudo" |
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
event.action | eq |
| field:"EventType" kind:eq value:"exec" |
event.type | eq |
| field:"event.type" kind:eq value:"start" |
process.name | wildcard |
| field:"process_name" kind:wildcard value:"tclsh*" |