Detection rules › Splunk
Cisco Secure Firewall - Malware File Downloaded
The following analytic detects file downloads that were classified as malware by Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense. It relies on the SHA_Disposition field with a value of "Malware" and includes metadata such as file name, file_hash hash, and threat classification. This analytic is critical for surfacing file-based threats that are identified via Cisco's AMP or Threat Grid integrations. If confirmed malicious, this could indicate delivery of malware.
Known false positives
- Malicious verdicts could be outdated or incorrect due to retroactive threat intel.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Execution | |
| Command & Control |
Rule body
name: Cisco Secure Firewall - Malware File Downloaded
id: 3cc93f52-5aa6-4b7f-83b9-3430b1436813
version: 8
creation_date: '2025-04-09'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: |
The following analytic detects file downloads that were classified as malware by Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense. It relies on the `SHA_Disposition` field with a value of "Malware" and includes metadata such as file name, file_hash hash, and threat classification. This analytic is critical for surfacing file-based threats that are identified via Cisco's AMP or Threat Grid integrations. If confirmed malicious, this could indicate delivery of malware.
data_source:
- Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense File Event
search: |
`cisco_secure_firewall` EventType=FileEvent SHA_Disposition="Malware" FileDirection="Download"
| lookup cisco_secure_firewall_filetype_lookup Name as FileType OUTPUT Description
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
values(uri) as uri
values(ClientApplication) as ClientApplication
values(file_hash) as file_hash
by FileDirection dest src dest_port FileType app file_name ThreatName Description
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| table firstTime lastTime src dest dest_port FileDirection FileType Description uri file_name file_hash app ClientApplication ThreatName SHA_Disposition
| `cisco_secure_firewall___malware_file_downloaded_filter`
how_to_implement: |
This search requires Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense Logs, which
includes the FileEvent EventType. This search uses an input macro named `cisco_secure_firewall`.
We strongly recommend that you specify your environment-specific configurations
(index, source, sourcetype, etc.) for Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense logs. Replace the macro definition
with configurations for your Splunk environment. The search also uses a post-filter
macro designed to filter out known false positives.
The logs are to be ingested using the Splunk Add-on for Cisco Security Cloud (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/7404).
The malware & file access policy must also enable logging.
known_false_positives: Malicious verdicts could be outdated or incorrect due to retroactive threat intel.
references:
- https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/firepower/741/api/FQE/secure_firewall_estreamer_fqe_guide_740.pdf
intermediate_findings:
entities:
- field: src
type: system
score: 20
message: File with Malware disposition downloaded from $dest$ over port $dest_port$ by $src$
threat_objects:
- field: file_hash
type: file_hash
- field: file_name
type: file_name
analytic_story:
- Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense Analytics
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
- T1203
- T1105
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: network
security_domain: endpoint
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`cisco_secure_firewall` EventType=FileEvent SHA_Disposition="Malware" FileDirection="Download"
Stage 2: lookup
| lookup cisco_secure_firewall_filetype_lookup Name as FileType OUTPUT Description
Stage 3: stats
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
values(uri) as uri
values(ClientApplication) as ClientApplication
values(file_hash) as file_hash
by FileDirection dest src dest_port FileType app file_name ThreatName Description
Stage 4: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 5: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 6: table
| table firstTime lastTime src dest dest_port FileDirection FileType Description uri file_name file_hash app ClientApplication ThreatName SHA_Disposition
Stage 7: search
| `cisco_secure_firewall___malware_file_downloaded_filter`
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
EventType | eq |
| field:"EventType" kind:eq value:"FileEvent" |
FileDirection | eq |
| field:"FileDirection" kind:eq |
SHA_Disposition | eq |
| field:"SHA_Disposition" kind:eq |
sourcetype | eq |
| field:"sourcetype" kind:eq value:"cisco:sfw:estreamer" |