Detection rules › Sigma
Potential Qakbot Rundll32 Execution
Detects specific process tree behavior of a "rundll32" execution often linked with potential Qakbot activity.
Known false positives
- Unlikely
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Execution | No specific technique |
| Stealth | No specific technique |
Telemetry coverage
| Provider | Record / event type |
|---|---|
| Sysmon | Event ID 1: Process creation |
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4688: A new process has been created. |
Rule body
title: Potential Qakbot Rundll32 Execution
id: cf879ffb-793a-4753-9a14-bc8f37cc90df
status: test
description: Detects specific process tree behavior of a "rundll32" execution often linked with potential Qakbot activity.
references:
- https://github.com/pr0xylife/Qakbot/
author: X__Junior (Nextron Systems)
date: 2023-05-24
tags:
- attack.execution
- detection.emerging-threats
- attack.stealth
logsource:
product: windows
category: process_creation
detection:
selection_paths:
ParentImage|endswith:
# Note: Only add processes seen used by Qakbot to avoid collision with other strains of malware
- '\cmd.exe'
- '\cscript.exe'
- '\curl.exe'
- '\mshta.exe'
- '\powershell.exe'
- '\pwsh.exe'
- '\wscript.exe'
Image|endswith: '\rundll32.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
# Note: Only add paths seen used by Qakbot to avoid collision with other strains of malware
- ':\ProgramData\'
- ':\Users\Public\'
- '\AppData\Local\Temp\'
- '\AppData\Roaming\'
selection_extension:
CommandLine|contains: '.dll'
condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
- Unlikely
level: high
Stages and Predicates
Stage 0: condition
all of selection_*Stage 1: selection_paths
selection_paths:
ParentImage|endswith:
- '\cmd.exe'
- '\cscript.exe'
- '\curl.exe'
- '\mshta.exe'
- '\powershell.exe'
- '\pwsh.exe'
- '\wscript.exe'
Image|endswith: '\rundll32.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- ':\ProgramData\'
- ':\Users\Public\'
- '\AppData\Local\Temp\'
- '\AppData\Roaming\'
Stage 2: selection_extension
selection_extension:
CommandLine|contains: '.dll'
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
CommandLine | match |
| field:"CommandLine" kind:match |
Image | ends_with |
| field:"Image" kind:ends_with value:"\rundll32.exe" |
ParentImage | ends_with |
| field:"ParentImage" kind:ends_with |