Detectors

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

23 detectors match the current filters.

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Type Name Severity Module Data source / event ATT&CK
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Recurring access to rare domain The endpoint is periodically connecting to an external domain (categorized as malware) 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 EAL Logs, Palo Alto Networks Firewall threat Logs, XDR Agent, Third-Party Firewalls Command and Control
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 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