Response File Execution Via Odbcconf.EXE

Status: test
Severity: medium
Log source: product windows, category process_creation
Author: Kirill Kiryanov, Beyu Denis, Daniil Yugoslavskiy, oscd.community, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Source: github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

Detects execution of "odbcconf" with the "-f" flag in order to load a response file which might contain a malicious action.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Stealth	`T1218.008` System Binary Proxy Execution: Odbcconf

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Sysmon	Event ID 1	Process creation

Rule body yaml

title: Response File Execution Via Odbcconf.EXE
id: 5f03babb-12db-4eec-8c82-7b4cb5580868
related:
    - id: 2d32dd6f-3196-4093-b9eb-1ad8ab088ca5
      type: similar
    - id: 65d2be45-8600-4042-b4c0-577a1ff8a60e
      type: obsolete
status: test
description: Detects execution of "odbcconf" with the "-f" flag in order to load a response file which might contain a malicious action.
references:
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/odbc/odbcconf-exe?view=sql-server-ver16
    - https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/Binaries/Odbcconf/
    - https://www.cybereason.com/blog/threat-analysis-report-bumblebee-loader-the-high-road-to-enterprise-domain-control
    - https://www.hexacorn.com/blog/2020/08/23/odbcconf-lolbin-trifecta/
author: Kirill Kiryanov, Beyu Denis, Daniil Yugoslavskiy, oscd.community, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2023-05-22
modified: 2024-03-05
tags:
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1218.008
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\odbcconf.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'odbcconf.exe'
    selection_cli:
        CommandLine|contains|windash: ' -f '
    selection_rsp_ext:
        CommandLine|contains: '.rsp'
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - The rule is looking for any usage of response file, which might generate false positive when this function is used legitimately. Investigate the contents of the ".rsp" file to determine if it is malicious and apply additional filters if necessary.
level: medium

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

all of selection_*

Stage 1: `selection_img`

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\odbcconf.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'odbcconf.exe'

Stage 2: `selection_cli`

selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|windash: ' -f '

Stage 3: `selection_rsp_ext`

selection_rsp_ext:
    CommandLine|contains: '.rsp'

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
`CommandLine`	match	`-f` transforms: `windash` corpus 8 (sigma 6, chronicle 2) `.rsp` corpus 2 (sigma 1, splunk 1)
`Image`	ends_with	`\odbcconf.exe` corpus 11 (sigma 11)
`OriginalFileName`	eq	`odbcconf.exe` corpus 9 (sigma 9)

`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)

Response File Execution Via Odbcconf.EXE

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection_img`

Stage 2: `selection_cli`

Stage 3: `selection_rsp_ext`

Indicators

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Response File Execution Via Odbcconf.EXE

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

Stage 1: selection_img

Stage 2: selection_cli

Stage 3: selection_rsp_ext

Indicators

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection_img`

Stage 2: `selection_cli`

Stage 3: `selection_rsp_ext`