Detectors
Every Cortex detection rule the toolbox knows about — analytics alerts, BIOCs and correlation rules — in one filterable set.
1088 detectors match the current filters.
Download CSV| Type | Name | Severity | Module | Data source / event | ATT&CK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual Identity and Access Management (IAM) activity A cloud identity performed an unusual IAM operation. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | AWS Audit Log, Gcp Audit Log | Persistence, Privilege Escalation |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual internal access to network device management interface Unusual internal access to Palo Alto Networks device on management port. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent | Lateral Movement, Discovery |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual key management activity A cloud identity performed a key management operation for the first time. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | AWS Audit Log, Azure Audit Log, Gcp Audit Log | Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual Kubernetes secret access Suspicious Kubernetes secret access. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | AWS Audit Log, Azure Audit Log, Gcp Audit Log, Kubernetes Audit Logs | Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual Kubernetes service account file read An unusual process opened a Kubernetes service account file for the first time. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Credential Access |
| Analytics | Unusual multi-region AWS Resource Explorer searches An identity performed unusual discovery activity in multiple regions using Resource Explorer's Search operation. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | AWS Audit Log | Discovery |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual process accessed a macOS notes DB file An unusual process has accessed a user's notes DB file. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Collection |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual process accessed the PowerShell history file An abnormal process accessed the PowerShell console history file. This may be a sign of malicious PowerShell execution without directly invoking the powershell.exe binary. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent | Execution |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual process accessed web browser cookies An unusual process has accessed a web browser's session cookie store. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual process accessed web browser credentials An unusual process has accessed a web browser credentials file. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Unusual process spawned by changepk.exe Attackers may use the changepk.exe built-in Windows tool to bypass UAC using an unusual initiator. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Privilege Escalation |
| BIOC | Unusual process spawned by fontdrvhost.exe A remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2020-1020) exists in the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library. An unusual process spawned by fontdrvhost.exe can be a possible indicator of exploitation. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Execution |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual resource access by Azure application An Azure application had interacted with an unusual resource using the Microsoft Graph API. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | Azure Audit Log, Microsoft Graph Logs | Discovery |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual resource modification by newly seen IAM user A cloud resource was modified by a newly seen IAM user. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | AWS Audit Log, Azure Audit Log, Gcp Audit Log | Persistence, Privilege Escalation, Impact |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual secret management activity A cloud Identity performed a secret management operation for the first time. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | AWS Audit Log, Azure Audit Log, Gcp Audit Log | Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual sender IP subnet This IP address has not been observed in correlation with the sender's fully qualified domain name within the last 30 days. | Informational | Email Security | Microsoft 365 Emails | Defense Evasion |
| 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 BIOC | Unusual URL(s) sent by a brand were observed in the email A URL that is not usually associated with the brand has been detected. | Informational | Email Security | Microsoft 365 Emails | Execution, Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual use of a 'SysInternals' tool An attacker may be trying to avoid detection by using an obfuscated copy of SysInternals tools. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Defense Evasion |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual user account enablement A user enabled an account. This user does not usually enable user accounts. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Windows Event Collector, XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Persistence |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual user account unlock A user unlocked an account. This user does not usually unlock user accounts. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Windows Event Collector, XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Initial Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual user-agent for a cloud identity A cloud identity has executed an API call with an unusual user-agent. | Informational | Cortex Cloud | AWS Audit Log, Azure Audit Log, Gcp Audit Log | Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, Defense Evasion |
| Analytics BIOC | Unusual weak authentication by user A user account authenticated to a host via NTLMv1 or LM authentication for the first time in the past 30 days. This may be indicative of an NTLM downgrade attack A downgrade attack may force the client to authenticate with a weaker hash/protocol (such as NTLMv1 or even LM) instead of NTLMv2. | Informational | Identity Analytics | XDR Agent | Lateral Movement |
| Analytics BIOC | Unverified domain added to Azure AD A new unverified domain was added to Azure AD. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | AzureAD Audit Log | Persistence |
| 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 | Usage of homograph characters detected in an email Detected characters resembling Latin letters within an email's subject and/or body. This could indicate an attempt to impersonate a well-known brand or impersonate someone's identity. This could also be used as a method to evade text scanners and analyzers. | Informational | Email Security | Microsoft 365 Emails | Defense Evasion |
| Analytics BIOC | Usage of homograph characters detected in an email attachment(s) name Detected characters resembling Latin letters within an email attachment(s) name. This method could be used as a method to evade text or file scanners and analyzers. | Informational | Email Security | Microsoft 365 Emails | Execution, Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Usage of homograph characters detected in an email's from header Detected characters resembling Latin letters within an email's From header. This could indicate an attempt to impersonate a well-known brand or impersonate someone's identity. This could also be used as a method to evade text scanners and analyzers. | Informational | Email Security | Microsoft 365 Emails | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Usage of tracing tool An attacker may be trying to use a known tracing tool to gather information from other processes. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| Analytics | User accessed multiple O365 AIP sensitive files A user accessed multiple O365 AIP sensitive files. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | Office 365 Audit | Collection |
| Analytics BIOC | User accessed SaaS resource via anonymous link A user accessed a SaaS resource via an anonymous link. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | Google Workspace Audit Logs, Office 365 Audit | Collection |
| Analytics BIOC | User account delegation change A user account was modified with delegation to a service. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Windows Event Collector, XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Persistence |
| BIOC | User account flagged as hidden Look for unsigned processes that add an entry to the hidden users Registry key. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| Analytics BIOC | User added a new device to Okta Verify instance The user has successfully registered a new device with the Okta Verify application. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | Okta Audit Log | Persistence |
| Analytics BIOC | User added SID History to an account A user added SID history to an account. This may be indicative of a user's migration between domains or a SID injection attack. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Windows Event Collector, XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Privilege Escalation, Defense Evasion |
| Analytics | User added to a group and removed A user was added to an Active Directory group and removed within a short period of time, which may be a sign of compromise. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Windows Event Collector, XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Persistence, Privilege Escalation |
| Analytics | User and Group Enumeration via SAMR The endpoint performed unfamiliar SAMR querying activity to a domain controller. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Discovery |
| Analytics BIOC | User attempted to connect from a suspicious country A user connected from an unusual country. This may indicate the account was compromised. | Informational | Identity Analytics | AzureAD, Azure SignIn Log, Idira, Duo, Okta, OneLogin, PingOne | Credential Access, Resource Development |
| BIOC | User creation or modification via /etc file Attackers may create new users or modify existing users by directly modifying /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Persistence |
| Analytics BIOC | User discovery via WMI query execution Attackers or malware may use WMI queries to list the users of a host, and potentially its owner. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Execution, Discovery |
| Analytics | User exported multiple messages in Microsoft Teams via Graph API A user exported multiple messages in Microsoft Teams via Graph API. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | Office 365 Audit | Collection |
| Analytics BIOC | User installed an application in Microsoft Teams via Graph API A user who rarely uses the Graph API to install Microsoft Teams applications has installed one using it. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | Microsoft Graph Logs | Persistence |
| Analytics | User moved Exchange sent messages to deleted items A user moved sent messages to deleted items in Exchange. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection, Email Security | Office 365 Audit | Defense Evasion |
| Analytics | User sent messages in Microsoft Teams to multiple conversations via Graph API A user who rarely uses the Graph API for Microsoft Teams messaging sent multiple messages using it. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | Microsoft Graph Logs | Lateral Movement |
| Analytics BIOC | User signed in to an application via Power Automate for the first time A user signed in to an application via Power Automate for the first time. This may be indicative of a compromised account. | Informational | Identity Threat Detection (ITDR), SaaS Threat Detection | AzureAD | Initial Access, Exfiltration |
| BIOC | VBScript execution from the command line Attackers may run VBScript code from the command line using signed processes such as Mshta. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Execution |
| BIOC | VirtualBox enumeration VBoxManage can be used to enumerate local VirtualBox machines. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| Analytics BIOC | VM Detection attempt A script has executed commands that can be used to detect VM environments. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Defense Evasion, Discovery |
| Analytics BIOC | VM Detection attempt on Linux A Process executed a command and/or accessed a file that can be used to detect VM environments. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent | Defense Evasion, Discovery |
| BIOC | VMware enumeration attempt An attacker may check for virtualization by searching for local vmx (VMware configuration) files. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| Analytics BIOC | VPN access with an abnormal operating system A user accessed a VPN with an abnormal operating system. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Palo Alto Networks Global Protect, Third-Party VPNs | Initial Access |
| Analytics | VPN login Brute-Force attempt A user account failed to log in to a VPN service multiple times in a short time period. This may indicate a brute-force attack. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Palo Alto Networks Global Protect, Third-Party VPNs | Credential Access, Resource Development |
| Analytics BIOC | VPN login by a dormant user A dormant user logged on to a VPN service after having been unused for a month or longer. This may indicate the account is misused by an attacker. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Palo Alto Networks Global Protect, Third-Party VPNs | Defense Evasion |
| Analytics | VPN Login Password Spray An abnormally high number of users failed to log in to a VPN service from an IP address within a short period of time. This may indicate a password spray attack. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Palo Alto Networks Global Protect, Third-Party VPNs | Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | VPN login with a machine account A machine account successfully logged in to a VPN service. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Palo Alto Networks Global Protect, Third-Party VPNs | Initial Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Vulnerable certificate template loaded A possible misconfigured certificate template was loaded by Certificate Services. This may indicate potential certificate template abuse. | Informational | Identity Analytics | Windows Event Collector, XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Credential Access |
| Analytics BIOC | Weakly-Encrypted Kerberos TGT Response A weakly encrypted Kerberos TGT was issued by a domain controller. The encryption type is abnormal for this DC and results in a TGT that is easier to crack. This behavior may indicate a Skeleton Key attack. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Palo Alto Networks Firewall EAL Logs, XDR Agent | Credential Access, Defense Evasion, Persistence |
| BIOC | Web browser cookie and credential access Detect attempt to acquire cookies or credentials from a Safari browser. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| Analytics | Web server CGO executed a process following a potential Webshell dropped A process was executed by a web server CGO following a potential drop of a webshell file. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Persistence |
| Analytics BIOC | Web server CGO executed an uncommon process An uncommon process was executed by a web server CGO, which might indicate a Webshell activity or a web server exploit. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent | Initial Access, Persistence |
| BIOC | Web server process drops an executable to disk Web server processes should not normally write executable files out to the local filesystem. This may have legitimate uses in certain web applications, yet check for possible exploitation of the hosted web application. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Initial Access |
| BIOC | Web server spawns an unsigned process Web server processes should normally only carry out tasks related to serving web applications. This instance has spawned an unsigned process, which may indicate a successful exploitation attempt of the associated web application. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Initial Access |
| Analytics BIOC | WebDAV drive mounted from net.exe over HTTPS Attackers may mount a WebDAV drive over HTTPS to upload files to and download files from a compromised machine. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent | Exfiltration |
| Analytics BIOC | Well-known brand in sender headers with header inconsistencies Sender headers include a well-known brand with header inconsistencies indicating possible impersonation. | Informational | Email Security | Microsoft 365 Emails | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Wget connection to an external network Wget is a command-line utility used to transfer data. Attackers may use wget to exfiltrate data outside your organization. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Network | Exfiltration |
| BIOC | Windows 10 Developer Mode enabled Enabling developer mode allows for app sideloading and starts the Windows SSH services, which may be used to install Linux Bash on Windows. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| Analytics BIOC | Windows CGO, actor and action processes with anomalous characteristics Windows CGO, actor and action processes with anomalous characteristics. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent | Execution |
| Analytics BIOC | Windows CGO, actor process and action module with anomalous characteristics Windows CGO, actor process and action module with anomalous characteristics. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent | Execution |
| Analytics BIOC | Windows event logs were cleared with PowerShell Windows event logs were cleared or deleted with PowerShell. | Informational | Platform Analytics | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH) | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Windows Firewall disabled via Registry An attacker may disable the Windows Firewall via the Registry to bypass network controls. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Windows Firewall notifications disabled via Registry These Registry keys control the Windows Firewall notifications. Malware may turn notifications off before editing the firewall settings. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Windows hosts file written to Check for hosts file redirection, overriding the system's default hosts file to manipulate DNS. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Collection |
| BIOC | Windows PowerShell Logging being disabled via Registry Tampering of the key can disable event logging by the PowerShell, allowing the adversary to evade being detected using PowerShell. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Windows process masquerading by an unsigned process A process is trying to disguise itself as a legitimate Windows process, but is unsigned. This usually indicates malicious activity. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Windows Registry Editor being disabled via Registry Registry Editor may be enabled / disabled using this key. This could indicate either IT policy applied or malicious activity preventing the user from altering the Registry. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Windows Security audit log was cleared Event ID 1102 was generated when the Windows Security audit log was cleared. Attackers may clear events from Windows event logs to remove traces of their malicious activity. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Windows event log | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Windows Task Manager being disabled via Registry Task manager may be disabled to tamper with the user experience and with the response to a malicious incident. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | WinPmem Forensics Tool The WinPmem Forensics Tool has been run. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection, Credential Access |
| BIOC | WMI access to shadow copy interface An attacker may be trying to modify and/or delete shadow copies via WMI for disabling system backups or extracting NTDS.dit. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access, Impact |
| BIOC | WMI terminated a process The Windows Management Instrumentation CLI killed another process running on the endpoint or on a remote host. Malware may do this to evade detection. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion, Execution |
| BIOC | Write to .bash_profile Commands in ~/.bash_profile are executed on every user shell login with a username and password. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Persistence |
| BIOC | Write to /etc/hosts file An attacker may add an entry to the hosts file, so they can route traffic to the added IP. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Discovery |
| BIOC | Wscript / Cscript executed from a temporary directory An attacker may try to avoid detection by executing wscript/cscript scripts from a temporary directory. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection |
| BIOC | Wscript.exe connects to an external network It may be due to local IT or administrative tools used on endpoints, but it could also indicate exfiltration of data between hosts in the local network, malware droppers, beaconing and so on. The execution chain should be reviewed to determine the context of the activity. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Network | Execution |
| BIOC | WSL Feature Installation Detecting installation of Windows Subsystem for Linux feature. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Wzzip.exe execution with password protection parameters Wzzip.exe was executed with parameters indicating password protection of the output file. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection |
| Analytics BIOC | X-Forefront-Antispam-Report has flagged this email as a potential threat This email has been categorized by X-Forefront-Antispam-Report as a threat, suggesting it is likely malicious in nature (e.g., spam, phishing, impersonation, etc.). | Informational | Email Security | Microsoft 365 Emails | Initial Access, Defense Evasion, Execution |