Detectors

Every Cortex detection rule the toolbox knows about — analytics alerts, BIOCs and correlation rules — in one filterable set.

49 detectors match the current filters.

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Type Name Severity Module Data source / event ATT&CK
Analytics BIOC A Possible crypto miner was detected on a host The host produced traffic consistent with the crypto mining. Medium Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Impact
Analytics BIOC A Torrent client was detected on a host The host produced traffic consistent with the BitTorrent protocol. Torrent usage may expose the organization to malware or enable attackers or malicious insiders to exfiltrate data. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Exfiltration, Initial Access
Analytics BIOC A user accessed an uncommon AppID A user accessed an uncommon AppID that is rarely accessed by them or anyone else in the organization. Informational Identity Threat Detection (ITDR) Palo Alto Networks Firewall EAL Logs, Palo Alto Networks Firewall threat Logs, Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Exfiltration
Analytics BIOC Abnormal Communication to a Rare Domain An abnormal communication was seen from an internal entity to a rare domain. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics Abnormal connections to a dormant host from a newly seen endpoint The endpoint has performed multiple connections to an endpoint that is relatively inactive on the network. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Discovery
Analytics BIOC Abnormal RDP session to a remote host from a rarely seen host The endpoint performed a rare RDP session to a remote host. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Lateral Movement
Analytics BIOC Abnormal Recurring Communications to a Rare Domain Abnormal communications were seen from an internal entity to a rare external domain. This could be a case of beaconing to a C2 Server. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics BIOC Authentication Attempt From a Dormant Account A dormant user account tried to authenticate to a service using a TGS after having been unused for a year or more. This may indicate the account is misused by an attacker. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Defense Evasion
Analytics Download pattern that resembles Peer to Peer traffic A possible P2P protocol was spotted from an internal host. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Command and Control, Initial Access
Analytics Failed Connections The endpoint has failed connections to other endpoints that have been inactive for more than 24 hours, or that Cortex XDR Analytics has never seen on the network. The endpoint has made an abnormally large number of these failed connections and/or is attempting to connect to an abnormal mixture of missing or inactive endpoints. Your network might contain legitimate scanners that could cause a false positive for this alert. Cortex XDR Analytics attempts to filter these out by checking if a scanner has been active for a long consecutive period of time. Consequently, if this alert is seen, it represents new activity on your network. An attacker may be trying to move laterally, or to scan different parts of the network to look for other endpoints that expose a specific service. Worms also perform a similar activity to automatically infect additional hosts in the network. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Discovery
Analytics BIOC Failed Login For Locked-Out Account A locked-out user account (event ID 4725 or 4740) was used in a Kerberos TGT pre-authentication attempt. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Defense Evasion
Analytics Kerberos Pre-Auth Failures by Host The endpoint failed an unusual number of Kerberos pre-authentications (TGT requests) from at least three users when compared to its baseline. This can indicate a password-spraying attack. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access
Analytics Kerberos Pre-Auth Failures by User and Host The user account on this host failed Kerberos pre-authentications (TGT requests) an unusual number of times. This can indicate a Kerberos brute-force attack. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access
Analytics Kerberos User Enumeration A high amount of Kerberos principal unknown errors were generated on users in the last hour. This may be indicative of Kerberos user enumeration. Medium Identity Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Discovery
Analytics Large Upload (FTP) The endpoint transferred an excessively large amounts of data to a single destination over FTP. Cortex XDR Analytics assumes endpoint traffic towards a specific destination should be about the same over long periods of time. For that reason, Cortex XDR detected this abnormal behavior of a large data upload. An attacker may be exfiltrating data directly to the internet using this protocol. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Exfiltration
Analytics Large Upload (Generic) The endpoint transferred large amounts of data to an external site using a different protocol from HTTP/s, FTP, or SMTP. (A specific detector is used for each of those protocols.) Cortex XDR Analytics assumes that data transfers out of your network are ordinarily performed using one of those three services, so it expects that data transfers over all other ports to be low. For the same reason, Cortex XDR Analytics also assumes endpoint traffic towards a specific destination should be about the same over long periods of time. An attacker may be exfiltrating data directly to the internet. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Exfiltration
Analytics Large Upload (HTTPS) The endpoint transferred an excessive amount of data to an external site over HTTPS. The destination is not a popular upload site for endpoints on your network, and the endpoint performing the upload has not previously downloaded a large amount of data from the site. The upload is considered excessive based on comparison to baseline measurements of HTTPS data transfers on your network. An attacker may be exfiltrating data directly to the internet. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Exfiltration
Analytics Large Upload (SMTP) The endpoint, which is not an internal SMTP server, emailed an excessive amount of data from your network. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Exfiltration
Analytics Machine Account NTLM Relay An NTLM NTProofStr was seen from more than one source. This indicates that machine account NTLM authentication data has been relayed. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access, Lateral Movement
Analytics Multiple Weakly-Encrypted Kerberos Tickets Received A user accessed a number of services associated with user accounts in the 10 minutes leading to the alert, generating a number of weakly encrypted Kerberos TGS (ticket granting service) tickets that is significantly larger than the number of weakly encrypted TGS tickets received by that user in the 30 days leading to the alert. Services associated with user accounts are a common target for Kerberoasting due to default weak encryption. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access
Analytics New Administrative Behavior The endpoint performed new administrative actions, relative to its previously profiled behavior. It is possible that an endpoint will infrequently be used for administrative activities, so analytics is performed using logs collected over a long period of time, also comparing the activity to that of other endpoints. That is, if many endpoints are contacting the same destination with the same administrative activity, then this network activity is less likely to result in this alert. An attacker may be operating on the host, probing other computers and moving laterally inside the network using a trusted computer and credentials. Attackers typically exhibit administrative behaviors when performing reconnaissance and lateral movement. Medium Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Lateral Movement
Analytics BIOC New FTP Server A new FTP server has been detected. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Initial Access, Collection
Analytics NTLM Hash Harvesting An unusual number of users has sent NTLM to a target in the last hour. This may be indicative of poisoning and NTLM hash harvesting. Medium Identity Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access
Analytics NTLM Password Spray A single host tried to perform an unusual amount of login attempts using NTLM in a short period of time. This may be indicative of a NTLM password spray attack. Informational Identity Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access
Analytics NTLM Relay An NTLM NTProofStr was seen from more than one source. This indicates that NTLM authentication data has been relayed. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access, Lateral Movement
Analytics Port Scan The endpoint connected, or attempted to connect, to multiple privileged ports, which are infrequently used by other endpoints (i.e. destination ports that are normally used by many endpoints will not raise this alert). Attackers perform port scans for reconnaissance purposes, to find computers or servers that accept connections on these ports, and to find vulnerable services that can be exploited. Coverage for port scans using data arriving solely from Cortex agents is incomplete. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, Third-Party Firewalls Discovery
Analytics Port Sweep The endpoint connected, or attempted to connect, to multiple hosts using privileged ports that serve a well-defined function. Attackers perform port sweep for reconnaissance purposes, to find computers or servers that accept connections on these ports, and to find vulnerable services that can be exploited. Coverage for port sweeps using data arriving solely from Cortex agents is incomplete. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Discovery
Analytics BIOC Possible DCSync from a non domain controller Attackers may pose a compromised host as a DC to replicate data to it (DCSync). Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) Credential Access, Defense Evasion
Analytics BIOC Possible IPFS traffic was detected The host attempted to access other nodes in an IPFS manner. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Exfiltration, Initial Access
Analytics BIOC Possible Kerberoasting without SPNs A user specifically requested weak and deprecated encryption in a Kerberos TGS request. This provides easy-to-crack hashes, and is typically a sign of a Kerberoasting attack. The requested service was specified by using a suspicious SPN type, which is often used by Kerberoasting tools to request by SAN instead of SPN. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access
Analytics BIOC Possible use of IPFS was detected The host produced traffic consistent with IPFS. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Exfiltration, Initial Access
Analytics BIOC Rare AppID usage to a rare destination Rare AppID with port usage to rare destination. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics BIOC Rare NTLM Access By User To Host An unusual NTLM authentication attempt by a user to a host. This may indicate the use of stolen credentials or access tokens to access restricted hosts. Informational Identity Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Lateral Movement
Analytics BIOC Rare process created an SSH session to an uncommon cloud resource A rare process created an SSH session to an uncommon cloud resource. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics BIOC Rare process created an SSH session to an uncommon external host Rare process created an SSH session to an uncommon external host. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics BIOC Rare RDP session to a remote host The endpoint performed a rare RDP session to a remote host. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Lateral Movement
Analytics BIOC Rare SMB session to a remote host The endpoint performed a rare SMB activity to a remote host. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Lateral Movement
Analytics BIOC Rare SMTP/S Session The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and its SSL-secured variant SMTPS are used to send email. Attackers can use SMTP/S to exfiltrate data from your network. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Exfiltration
Analytics BIOC RDP from an unmanaged endpoint in a typically managed subnet An RDP connection was established from an unmanaged endpoint in a typically managed subnet, indicating a possible lateral movement. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Lateral Movement
Analytics BIOC Recurring access to rare IP The endpoint is periodically accessing an external fixed-IP address that its peers rarely use. Access to this external IP address has occurred repeatedly over many days. This connection pattern is consistent with malware connecting to its command and control server for updates and operating instructions. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics BIOC Recurring rare domain access to dynamic DNS domain The endpoint is periodically connecting to an external domain that it and its peers rarely use. Access to this domain has occurred repeatedly over multiple days. This connection pattern is consistent with malware connecting to its command and control server for updates and operating instructions. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics Spam Bot Traffic The endpoint connected to an excessive number of external SMTP servers. A spambot may be trying to send spam email using multiple SMTP servers. Spambots can cause your domain to be blacklisted, and can contain other malicious functionality. The same mechanism can also be used for exfiltration. Some VPN clients can also tunnel data over SMTP. Note: This detection model looks for SMTP connections to external servers, but the volume of traffic is not considered. A count is performed based on the number of domains being contacted, as well as the number of unresolved IP addresses. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Impact
Analytics Suspicious DNS traffic 10 KB or more were sent encoded in subdomain names during a 10-minute window. All subdomains queried were under a single suspicious domain. DNS tunneling encodes data in DNS queries and responses, allowing an attacker to bypass firewalls and proxies to reach his or her command and control server, even when HTTP/S traffic is blocked. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Command and Control, Exfiltration
Analytics BIOC Suspicious SMB connection from domain controller A domain controller has initiated an SMB connection to another host. The domain controllers usually communicate over SMB only with other domain controllers. An attacker can abuse such sessions for relay attacks. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Lateral Movement
Analytics BIOC Uncommon SSH session was established An uncommon SSH session was established. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
Analytics Unusual SSH Activity Unusual SSH activity was detected that involved a higher than usual volume of data transfer and an abnormally long session. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Command and Control
Analytics BIOC Unusual SSH activity that resembles SSH proxy A host initiated and received an unusual SSH connection, which is consistent with being an SSH proxy. This behavior may indicate an attempt to establish covert command and control communication or to exfiltrate data. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Command and Control
Analytics Upload pattern that resembles Peer to Peer traffic A possible P2P protocol was spotted from an internal host. Informational Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Command and Control, Initial Access
Analytics BIOC Weakly-Encrypted Kerberos Ticket Requested A user specifically requested weak and deprecated encryption in a Kerberos TGS request. This provides easy-to-crack hashes and is typically a sign of a Kerberoasting attack. Low Platform Analytics Palo Alto Networks Firewall traffic Logs, XDR Agent Credential Access