Detection rules › Splunk
Shai-Hulud 2 Exfiltration Artifact Files
Detects creation of exfiltration artifact files associated with Shai-Hulud 2.0 npm supply chain malware. The malware creates cloud.json, contents.json, environment.json, truffleSecrets.json, and actionsSecrets.json files containing harvested credentials from AWS, Azure, GCP, GitHub secrets, and environment variables. These files are staged before being pushed to attacker-controlled repositories.
Known false positives
- Low but possible. Generic filenames like cloud.json or environment.json may appear in legitimate contexts. Correlate with npm install activity or suspicious parent processes.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Initial Access | |
| Credential Access | |
| Collection |
Telemetry coverage
| Provider | Record / event type |
|---|---|
| Sysmon | Event ID 11: FileCreate |
| Linux | Event ID 11: File created |
Rule body
name: Shai-Hulud 2 Exfiltration Artifact Files
id: 9e7d3c0f-4a5b-6c8d-1e2f-3a4b5c6d7e8f
version: 4
creation_date: '2025-11-25'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Michael Haag, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: |
Detects creation of exfiltration artifact files associated with Shai-Hulud 2.0 npm supply
chain malware. The malware creates cloud.json, contents.json, environment.json, truffleSecrets.json,
and actionsSecrets.json files containing harvested credentials from AWS, Azure, GCP, GitHub secrets,
and environment variables. These files are staged before being pushed to attacker-controlled repositories.
data_source:
- Sysmon for Linux EventID 11
- Sysmon EventID 11
search: |
| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
from datamodel=Endpoint.Filesystem where
Filesystem.file_name IN (
"cloud.json",
"contents.json",
"environment.json",
"truffleSecrets.json",
"actionsSecrets.json"
)
by Filesystem.action Filesystem.dest Filesystem.file_access_time Filesystem.file_create_time
Filesystem.file_hash Filesystem.file_modify_time Filesystem.file_name Filesystem.file_path Filesystem.file_acl Filesystem.file_size Filesystem.process_guid Filesystem.process_id Filesystem.user
Filesystem.vendor_product
| `drop_dm_object_name(Filesystem)`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `shai_hulud_2_exfiltration_artifact_files_filter`
how_to_implement: |
The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection
and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related
telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search,
you must ingest logs that contain filesystem events, specifically file creation
events. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons
that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the `Filesystem`
node of the `Endpoint` data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM)
to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
known_false_positives: |
Low but possible. Generic filenames like cloud.json or environment.json may appear in legitimate contexts. Correlate with npm install activity or suspicious parent processes.
references:
- https://www.wiz.io/blog/shai-hulud-2-0-ongoing-supply-chain-attack
- https://securelist.com/shai-hulud-worm-infects-500-npm-packages-in-a-supply-chain-attack/117547/
finding:
title: Shai-Hulud 2.0 exfiltration artifact $file_name$ created on $dest$
entity:
field: dest
type: system
score: 50
threat_objects:
- field: file_name
type: file_name
analytic_story:
- NPM Supply Chain Compromise
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
- T1074.001
- T1552.001
- T1195.002
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: tstats
| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
from datamodel=Endpoint.Filesystem where
Filesystem.file_name IN (
"cloud.json",
"contents.json",
"environment.json",
"truffleSecrets.json",
"actionsSecrets.json"
)
by Filesystem.action Filesystem.dest Filesystem.file_access_time Filesystem.file_create_time
Filesystem.file_hash Filesystem.file_modify_time Filesystem.file_name Filesystem.file_path Filesystem.file_acl Filesystem.file_size Filesystem.process_guid Filesystem.process_id Filesystem.user
Filesystem.vendor_product
Stage 2: search
| `drop_dm_object_name(Filesystem)`
Stage 3: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 4: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 5: search
| `shai_hulud_2_exfiltration_artifact_files_filter`
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
Filesystem.file_name | in |
| field:"file_name" kind:in |