Detection rules › Sigma

Suspicious Outlook Macro Created

Status
test
Severity
high
Log source
category file_event, product windows
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Source
github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

Detects the creation of a macro file for Outlook.

Known false positives

  • Unlikely

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Telemetry coverage

ProviderRecord / event type
SysmonEvent ID 11: FileCreate

Rule body

title: Suspicious Outlook Macro Created
id: 117d3d3a-755c-4a61-b23e-9171146d094c
related:
    - id: 8c31f563-f9a7-450c-bfa8-35f8f32f1f61
      type: derived
status: test
description: Detects the creation of a macro file for Outlook.
references:
    - https://www.mdsec.co.uk/2020/11/a-fresh-outlook-on-mail-based-persistence/
    - https://speakerdeck.com/heirhabarov/hunting-for-persistence-via-microsoft-exchange-server-or-outlook?slide=53
    - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/outlook-backdoor-using-vba-samir-b-/
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2023-02-08
tags:
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.command-and-control
    - attack.t1137
    - attack.t1008
    - attack.t1546
logsource:
    category: file_event
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        TargetFilename|endswith: '\Microsoft\Outlook\VbaProject.OTM'
    filter:
        Image|endswith: '\outlook.exe'
    condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
    - Unlikely
level: high

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

selection and not filter

Stage 1: selection

selection:
    TargetFilename|endswith: '\Microsoft\Outlook\VbaProject.OTM'

Stage 2: not filter

filter:
    Image|endswith: '\outlook.exe'

Exclusions

The rule actively suppresses these predicates.

FieldKindExcluded valuesSearch
Imageends_with\outlook.exeexcludes:Image field:"Image" value:"\outlook.exe"

Indicators

These rows show field, operator, and value matches.

FieldKindValuesSearch
TargetFilenameends_with
  • \Microsoft\Outlook\VbaProject.OTM corpus 2 (sigma 2)
field:"TargetFilename" kind:ends_with value:"\Microsoft\Outlook\VbaProject.OTM"