RDP tunneling via ngrok detected

Status: experimental
Severity: high
Log source: product windows, category rdp
Author: mdecrevoisier
Source: github.com/mdecrevoisier/SIGMA-detection-rules

Detects scenarios where an attacker uses RDP tunneling to redirect traffic to a C&C target.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Lateral Movement	`T1021.001` Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol
Command & Control	`T1572` Protocol Tunneling

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager	Event ID 21	Remote Desktop Services: Session logon succeeded.
TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager	Event ID 24	Remote Desktop Services: Session has been disconnected.
TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager	Event ID 25	Remote Desktop Services: Session reconnection succeeded.
TerminalServices-RemoteConnectionManager	Event ID 1149	Remote Desktop Services: User authentication succeeded.

Rule body yaml

title: RDP tunneling via ngrok detected
description: Detects scenarios where an attacker uses RDP tunneling to redirect traffic to a C&C target.
references:
- https://twitter.com/malmoeb/status/1519710302820089857
- https://twitter.com/Purp1eW0lf/status/1624073100420677633
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/bypassing-network-restrictions-through-rdp-tunneling
- https://www.huntress.com/blog/abusing-ngrok-hackers-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel
- https://www.logpoint.com/en/blog/a-deep-look-at-the-darkside-ransomware-operators-and-their-affiliates/#
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/sim-swapping-abuse-azure-serial
tags:
- attack.command_and_control
- attack.t1572 # Protocol Tunneling 
- attack.lateral_movement
- attack.t1021.001 # Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol 
author: mdecrevoisier
status: experimental
logsource:
  product: windows
  category: rdp
detection: # suspicious paramter in the IP field should be : "::%16777216"
  selection1:
    EventID: 
      - 21 # session logon succeeded
      - 24 # session has been disconnected
      - 25 # session reconnection successed
    Channel: Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager/Operational
    EventXML.Address|startswith: '::%' # IP address is provided in "EventXML.Address"

  selection2:
    EventID: 1149 # 'User authentication succeeded': DOES NOT indicate a successful user authentication !!!
    Channel: Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-RemoteConnectionManager/Operational
    EventXML.Param3|startswith: '::%' # IP address is provided in "EventXML.Param3"

  condition: selection1 or selection2
falsepositives:
- Nested RDP session on the same host using ::1 as destination IP
level: high

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

selection1 or selection2

Stage 1: `selection1`

selection1:
  EventID:
    - 21
    - 24
    - 25
  Channel: Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-LocalSessionManager/Operational
  EventXML.Address|startswith: '::%'

Stage 2: `selection2`

selection2:
  EventID: 1149
  Channel: Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-RemoteConnectionManager/Operational
  EventXML.Param3|startswith: '::%'

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
`EventXML.Address`	starts_with	`::%`
`EventXML.Param3`	starts_with	`::%`

`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)

RDP tunneling via ngrok detected

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection1`

Stage 2: `selection2`

Indicators

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

RDP tunneling via ngrok detected

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

Stage 1: selection1

Stage 2: selection2

Indicators

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection1`

Stage 2: `selection2`