ADSI-Cache File Creation By Uncommon Tool

Status: test
Severity: medium
Log source: product windows, category file_event
Author: xknow @xknow_infosec, Tim Shelton
Source: github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

Detects the creation of an "Active Directory Schema Cache File" (.sch) file by an uncommon tool.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Command & Control	`T1001.003` Data Obfuscation: Protocol or Service Impersonation

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Sysmon	Event ID 11	FileCreate

Rule body yaml

title: ADSI-Cache File Creation By Uncommon Tool
id: 75bf09fa-1dd7-4d18-9af9-dd9e492562eb
status: test
description: Detects the creation of an "Active Directory Schema Cache File" (.sch) file by an uncommon tool.
references:
    - https://medium.com/@ivecodoe/detecting-ldapfragger-a-newly-released-cobalt-strike-beacon-using-ldap-for-c2-communication-c274a7f00961
    - https://blog.fox-it.com/2020/03/19/ldapfragger-command-and-control-over-ldap-attributes/
    - https://github.com/fox-it/LDAPFragger
author: xknow @xknow_infosec, Tim Shelton
date: 2019-03-24
modified: 2023-10-18
tags:
    - attack.t1001.003
    - attack.command-and-control
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: file_event
detection:
    selection:
        TargetFilename|contains: '\Local\Microsoft\Windows\SchCache\'
        TargetFilename|endswith: '.sch'
    filter_main_generic:
        - Image|endswith:
              - ':\Program Files\Cylance\Desktop\CylanceSvc.exe'
              - ':\Windows\CCM\CcmExec.exe'
              - ':\windows\system32\dllhost.exe'
              - ':\Windows\system32\dsac.exe'
              - ':\Windows\system32\efsui.exe'
              - ':\windows\system32\mmc.exe'
              - ':\windows\system32\svchost.exe'
              - ':\Windows\System32\wbem\WmiPrvSE.exe'
              - ':\windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe'
        - Image|contains:
              - ':\Windows\ccmsetup\autoupgrade\ccmsetup' # C:\Windows\ccmsetup\autoupgrade\ccmsetup.TMC00002.40.exe
              - ':\Program Files\SentinelOne\Sentinel Agent' # C:\Program Files\SentinelOne\Sentinel Agent 21.7.7.40005\SentinelAgent.exe
    filter_main_office:
        Image|contains|all:
            - ':\Program Files\'
            - '\Microsoft Office'
        Image|endswith: '\OUTLOOK.EXE'
    filter_optional_ldapwhoami:
        Image|endswith: '\LANDesk\LDCLient\ldapwhoami.exe'
    filter_optional_citrix:
        # Example:
        #   TargetFilename=C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\SchCache\REDACTED.com.sch
        Image|endswith: ':\Program Files\Citrix\Receiver StoreFront\Services\DefaultDomainServices\Citrix.DeliveryServices.DomainServices.ServiceHost.exe'
    condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
    - Other legimate tools, which do ADSI (LDAP) operations, e.g. any remoting activity by MMC, Powershell, Windows etc.
level: medium

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*

Stage 1: `selection`

selection:
    TargetFilename|contains: '\Local\Microsoft\Windows\SchCache\'
    TargetFilename|endswith: '.sch'

Stage 2: `not filter_main_*`

filter_main_generic:
    - Image|endswith:
          - ':\Program Files\Cylance\Desktop\CylanceSvc.exe'
          - ':\Windows\CCM\CcmExec.exe'
          - ':\windows\system32\dllhost.exe'
          - ':\Windows\system32\dsac.exe'
          - ':\Windows\system32\efsui.exe'
          - ':\windows\system32\mmc.exe'
          - ':\windows\system32\svchost.exe'
          - ':\Windows\System32\wbem\WmiPrvSE.exe'
          - ':\windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe'
    - Image|contains:
          - ':\Windows\ccmsetup\autoupgrade\ccmsetup'
          - ':\Program Files\SentinelOne\Sentinel Agent'
filter_main_office:
    Image|contains|all:
        - ':\Program Files\'
        - '\Microsoft Office'
    Image|endswith: '\OUTLOOK.EXE'

Stage 3: `not filter_optional_*`

filter_optional_ldapwhoami:
    Image|endswith: '\LANDesk\LDCLient\ldapwhoami.exe'
filter_optional_citrix:
    Image|endswith: ':\Program Files\Citrix\Receiver StoreFront\Services\DefaultDomainServices\Citrix.DeliveryServices.DomainServices.ServiceHost.exe'

Exclusions

Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`Image`	ends_with	`\OUTLOOK.EXE`
`Image`	match	`:\Program Files\`
`Image`	match	`\Microsoft Office`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\Program Files\Cylance\Desktop\CylanceSvc.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\Windows\CCM\CcmExec.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\Windows\System32\wbem\WmiPrvSE.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\Windows\system32\dsac.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\Windows\system32\efsui.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\windows\system32\dllhost.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\windows\system32\mmc.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\windows\system32\svchost.exe`
`Image`	match	`:\Program Files\SentinelOne\Sentinel Agent`
`Image`	match	`:\Windows\ccmsetup\autoupgrade\ccmsetup`
`Image`	ends_with	`:\Program Files\Citrix\Receiver StoreFront\Services\DefaultDomainServices\Citrix.DeliveryServices.DomainServices.ServiceHost.exe`
`Image`	ends_with	`\LANDesk\LDCLient\ldapwhoami.exe`

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
`TargetFilename`	ends_with	`.sch`
`TargetFilename`	match	`\Local\Microsoft\Windows\SchCache\`

`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)

ADSI-Cache File Creation By Uncommon Tool

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection`

Stage 2: `not filter_main_*`

Stage 3: `not filter_optional_*`

Exclusions

Indicators

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

ADSI-Cache File Creation By Uncommon Tool

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

Stage 1: selection

Stage 2: not filter_main_*

Stage 3: not filter_optional_*

Exclusions

Indicators

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection`

Stage 2: `not filter_main_*`

Stage 3: `not filter_optional_*`