AWS SSM Distributed Command

Status: Experimental
Severity: informational
Compliance: Stratus Red Team aws.execution.ssm-send-command
Log types: AWS.CloudTrail
Tags: AWS CloudTrail, AWS SSM, AWS EC2, Execution: Exploitation for Client Execution
Reference: https://stratus-red-team.cloud/attack-techniques/AWS/aws.execution.ssm-send-command/
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

Detect an attacker utilizing AWS Systems Manager (SSM) to execute commands through SendCommand on multiple EC2 instances.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Execution	`T1203` Exploitation for Client Execution

Rules detecting the same action

Other rules on this platform that filter on the same API call or operation.

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Filename: aws_ssm_distributed_command.py
RuleID: "AWS.SSM.DistributedCommand"
DisplayName: AWS SSM Distributed Command
Enabled: true
LogTypes:
  - AWS.CloudTrail
Severity: Info
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0002:T1203 # Execution: Exploitation for Client Execution

  Stratus Red Team:
    - aws.execution.ssm-send-command
Description: >
  Detect an attacker utilizing AWS Systems Manager (SSM) to execute commands through SendCommand on multiple EC2 instances.
Reference: >
  https://stratus-red-team.cloud/attack-techniques/AWS/aws.execution.ssm-send-command/
Runbook: >
  Detetmine who issued the command, the command content and arguments, and which EC2 instances were affected. Determine the risk of an attacker creating a persistent point of access within one of the instances. Review behaviour logs for the EC2 instances (and their associated IAM roles).
SummaryAttributes:
  - p_any_aws_account_ids
  - p_any_aws_arns
  - p_any_aws_instance_ids
  - p_any_ip_addresses
  - p_any_usernames
Tags:
  - AWS CloudTrail
  - AWS SSM
  - AWS EC2
  - 'Execution: Exploitation for Client Execution'
Status: Experimental
Tests:
  - Name: Send Command to Many Instances at Once
    ExpectedResult: true
    Mocks:
      - objectName: get_string_set
        returnValue: '[]'
      - objectName: put_string_set
        returnValue: ''
    Log:
      {
        "p_event_time": "2025-02-19 16:32:39.000000000",
        "p_log_type": "AWS.CloudTrail",
        "p_parse_time": "2025-02-19 16:35:54.509896629",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "eventID": "ceaea85a-6db9-4595-9842-d904fce2f047",
        "eventName": "SendCommand",
        "eventSource": "ssm.amazonaws.com",
        "eventTime": "2025-02-19 16:32:39.000000000",
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "readOnly": false,
        "recipientAccountId": "111122223333",
        "requestID": "c41499e3-c04c-48e7-9da9-ef63d0868553",
        "requestParameters": {
          "documentName": "AWS-RunShellScript",
          "instanceIds": [
            "i-006e4c07b5fba8ad2",
            "i-01bf673280e708b0d",
            "i-020001cca1a2f2628"
          ],
          "interactive": false,
          "parameters": "HIDDEN_DUE_TO_SECURITY_REASONS"
        },
        "responseElements": {
          "command": {
            "alarmConfiguration": {
              "alarms": [],
              "ignorePollAlarmFailure": false
            },
            "clientName": "",
            "clientSourceId": "",
            "cloudWatchOutputConfig": {
              "cloudWatchLogGroupName": "",
              "cloudWatchOutputEnabled": false
            },
            "commandId": "f49a1fe5-d12b-4ac0-98bc-0e4bd83d70c0",
            "comment": "",
            "completedCount": 0,
            "deliveryTimedOutCount": 0,
            "documentName": "AWS-RunShellScript",
            "documentVersion": "$DEFAULT",
            "errorCount": 0,
            "expiresAfter": "Feb 19, 2025, 6:32:39 PM",
            "hasCancelCommandSignature": false,
            "hasSendCommandSignature": false,
            "instanceIds": [
              "i-006e4c07b5fba8ad2",
              "i-01bf673280e708b0d",
              "i-020001cca1a2f2628"
            ],
            "interactive": false,
            "maxConcurrency": "50",
            "maxErrors": "0",
            "notificationConfig": {
              "notificationArn": "",
              "notificationEvents": [],
              "notificationType": ""
            },
            "outputS3BucketName": "",
            "outputS3KeyPrefix": "",
            "outputS3Region": "us-west-2",
            "parameters": "HIDDEN_DUE_TO_SECURITY_REASONS",
            "requestedDateTime": "Feb 19, 2025, 4:32:39 PM",
            "serviceRole": "",
            "status": "Pending",
            "statusDetails": "Pending",
            "targetCount": 3,
            "targets": [],
            "timeoutSeconds": 3600,
            "triggeredAlarms": []
          }
        },
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "tlsDetails": {
          "cipherSuite": "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256",
          "clientProvidedHostHeader": "ssm.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.2"
        },
        "userAgent": "sample-user-agent",
        "userIdentity": {
          "accessKeyId": "SAMPLE_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
          "accountId": "111122223333",
          "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111122223333:assumed-role/SampleRole/bobson.dugnutt",
          "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID:bobson.dugnutt",
          "sessionContext": {
            "attributes": {
              "creationDate": "2025-02-19T16:29:24Z",
              "mfaAuthenticated": "false"
            },
            "sessionIssuer": {
              "accountId": "111122223333",
              "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111122223333:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/SampleRole",
              "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID",
              "type": "Role",
              "userName": "SampleRole"
            },
            "webIdFederationData": {}
          },
          "type": "AssumedRole"
        }
      }
  - Name: Single Command Send, Many Cached IDs
    ExpectedResult: true
    Mocks:
      - objectName: get_string_set
        returnValue: '[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]'
      - objectName: put_string_set
        returnValue: ''
    Log:
      {
        "p_event_time": "2025-02-19 16:32:39.000000000",
        "p_log_type": "AWS.CloudTrail",
        "p_parse_time": "2025-02-19 16:35:54.509896629",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "eventID": "ceaea85a-6db9-4595-9842-d904fce2f047",
        "eventName": "SendCommand",
        "eventSource": "ssm.amazonaws.com",
        "eventTime": "2025-02-19 16:32:39.000000000",
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "readOnly": false,
        "recipientAccountId": "111122223333",
        "requestID": "c41499e3-c04c-48e7-9da9-ef63d0868553",
        "requestParameters": {
          "documentName": "AWS-RunShellScript",
          "instanceIds": [
            "i-006e4c07b5fba8ad2"
          ],
          "interactive": false,
          "parameters": "HIDDEN_DUE_TO_SECURITY_REASONS"
        },
        "responseElements": {
          "command": {
            "alarmConfiguration": {
              "alarms": [],
              "ignorePollAlarmFailure": false
            },
            "clientName": "",
            "clientSourceId": "",
            "cloudWatchOutputConfig": {
              "cloudWatchLogGroupName": "",
              "cloudWatchOutputEnabled": false
            },
            "commandId": "f49a1fe5-d12b-4ac0-98bc-0e4bd83d70c0",
            "comment": "",
            "completedCount": 0,
            "deliveryTimedOutCount": 0,
            "documentName": "AWS-RunShellScript",
            "documentVersion": "$DEFAULT",
            "errorCount": 0,
            "expiresAfter": "Feb 19, 2025, 6:32:39 PM",
            "hasCancelCommandSignature": false,
            "hasSendCommandSignature": false,
            "instanceIds": [
              "i-006e4c07b5fba8ad2"
            ],
            "interactive": false,
            "maxConcurrency": "50",
            "maxErrors": "0",
            "notificationConfig": {
              "notificationArn": "",
              "notificationEvents": [],
              "notificationType": ""
            },
            "outputS3BucketName": "",
            "outputS3KeyPrefix": "",
            "outputS3Region": "us-west-2",
            "parameters": "HIDDEN_DUE_TO_SECURITY_REASONS",
            "requestedDateTime": "Feb 19, 2025, 4:32:39 PM",
            "serviceRole": "",
            "status": "Pending",
            "statusDetails": "Pending",
            "targetCount": 3,
            "targets": [],
            "timeoutSeconds": 3600,
            "triggeredAlarms": []
          }
        },
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "tlsDetails": {
          "cipherSuite": "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256",
          "clientProvidedHostHeader": "ssm.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.2"
        },
        "userAgent": "sample-user-agent",
        "userIdentity": {
          "accessKeyId": "SAMPLE_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
          "accountId": "111122223333",
          "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111122223333:assumed-role/SampleRole/bobson.dugnutt",
          "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID:bobson.dugnutt",
          "sessionContext": {
            "attributes": {
              "creationDate": "2025-02-19T16:29:24Z",
              "mfaAuthenticated": "false"
            },
            "sessionIssuer": {
              "accountId": "111122223333",
              "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111122223333:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/SampleRole",
              "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID",
              "type": "Role",
              "userName": "SampleRole"
            },
            "webIdFederationData": {}
          },
          "type": "AssumedRole"
        }
      }
  - Name: Single Command Send, No Cached IDs
    ExpectedResult: false
    Mocks:
      - objectName: get_string_set
        returnValue: '[]'
      - objectName: put_string_set
        returnValue: ''
    Log:
      {
        "p_event_time": "2025-02-19 16:32:39.000000000",
        "p_log_type": "AWS.CloudTrail",
        "p_parse_time": "2025-02-19 16:35:54.509896629",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "eventID": "ceaea85a-6db9-4595-9842-d904fce2f047",
        "eventName": "SendCommand",
        "eventSource": "ssm.amazonaws.com",
        "eventTime": "2025-02-19 16:32:39.000000000",
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "readOnly": false,
        "recipientAccountId": "111122223333",
        "requestID": "c41499e3-c04c-48e7-9da9-ef63d0868553",
        "requestParameters": {
          "documentName": "AWS-RunShellScript",
          "instanceIds": [
            "i-006e4c07b5fba8ad2"
          ],
          "interactive": false,
          "parameters": "HIDDEN_DUE_TO_SECURITY_REASONS"
        },
        "responseElements": {
          "command": {
            "alarmConfiguration": {
              "alarms": [],
              "ignorePollAlarmFailure": false
            },
            "clientName": "",
            "clientSourceId": "",
            "cloudWatchOutputConfig": {
              "cloudWatchLogGroupName": "",
              "cloudWatchOutputEnabled": false
            },
            "commandId": "f49a1fe5-d12b-4ac0-98bc-0e4bd83d70c0",
            "comment": "",
            "completedCount": 0,
            "deliveryTimedOutCount": 0,
            "documentName": "AWS-RunShellScript",
            "documentVersion": "$DEFAULT",
            "errorCount": 0,
            "expiresAfter": "Feb 19, 2025, 6:32:39 PM",
            "hasCancelCommandSignature": false,
            "hasSendCommandSignature": false,
            "instanceIds": [
              "i-006e4c07b5fba8ad2"
            ],
            "interactive": false,
            "maxConcurrency": "50",
            "maxErrors": "0",
            "notificationConfig": {
              "notificationArn": "",
              "notificationEvents": [],
              "notificationType": ""
            },
            "outputS3BucketName": "",
            "outputS3KeyPrefix": "",
            "outputS3Region": "us-west-2",
            "parameters": "HIDDEN_DUE_TO_SECURITY_REASONS",
            "requestedDateTime": "Feb 19, 2025, 4:32:39 PM",
            "serviceRole": "",
            "status": "Pending",
            "statusDetails": "Pending",
            "targetCount": 3,
            "targets": [],
            "timeoutSeconds": 3600,
            "triggeredAlarms": []
          }
        },
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "tlsDetails": {
          "cipherSuite": "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256",
          "clientProvidedHostHeader": "ssm.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.2"
        },
        "userAgent": "sample-user-agent",
        "userIdentity": {
          "accessKeyId": "SAMPLE_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
          "accountId": "111122223333",
          "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111122223333:assumed-role/SampleRole/bobson.dugnutt",
          "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID:bobson.dugnutt",
          "sessionContext": {
            "attributes": {
              "creationDate": "2025-02-19T16:29:24Z",
              "mfaAuthenticated": "false"
            },
            "sessionIssuer": {
              "accountId": "111122223333",
              "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111122223333:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/SampleRole",
              "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID",
              "type": "Role",
              "userName": "SampleRole"
            },
            "webIdFederationData": {}
          },
          "type": "AssumedRole"
        }
      }
  - Name: Unrelated Event
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "p_event_time": "2025-02-19 18:00:45.000000000",
        "p_log_type": "AWS.CloudTrail",
        "p_parse_time": "2025-02-19 18:05:54.395474849",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "eventID": "447414b9-8516-4470-9e3a-f55067602ff0",
        "eventName": "DescribeInstances",
        "eventSource": "ec2.amazonaws.com",
        "eventTime": "2025-02-19 18:00:45.000000000",
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "eventVersion": "1.10",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "readOnly": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111122223333",
        "requestID": "c44720ce-1853-41c8-96b0-06dac0284963",
        "requestParameters": {
          "filterSet": {},
          "instancesSet": {
            "items": [
              {
                "instanceId": "i-09c2e8f99d245cc69"
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "sourceIPAddress": "eks.amazonaws.com",
        "userAgent": "eks.amazonaws.com",
        "userIdentity": {
          "accountId": "111122223333",
          "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111122223333:assumed-role/SampleRole/SessionId",
          "invokedBy": "eks.amazonaws.com",
          "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID:SessionId",
          "sessionContext": {
            "attributes": {
              "creationDate": "2025-02-19T17:55:44Z",
              "mfaAuthenticated": "false"
            },
            "sessionIssuer": {
              "accountId": "111122223333",
              "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111122223333:role/SampleRole",
              "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID",
              "type": "Role",
              "userName": "SampleRole"
            }
          },
          "type": "AssumedRole"
        }
      }

Detection logic

Condition

eventName eq "SendCommand"

This rule also runs imperative logic the parser cannot express as a filter; the conditions above are the structured part it could extract.

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`eventName`	eq	`SendCommand`

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

Field
`eventName`
`eventSource`
`awsRegion`
`recipientAccountId`
`sourceIPAddress`
`userAgent`
`userIdentity`
`actor_user`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)