Detectors
Every Cortex detection rule the toolbox knows about — analytics alerts, BIOCs and correlation rules — in one filterable set.
255 detectors match the current filters.
Download CSV| Type | Name | Severity | Module | Data source / event | ATT&CK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIOC | 7z.exe execution with password protection parameters 7z.exe was executed with parameters indicating password protection of the output file. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection |
| BIOC | A scripting engine was called to run in command line Scripting engines that are called to run in command line are used by attackers to run a script payload without a UI. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Execution |
| BIOC | Account creation via command-line tool The useradd/adduser command could be used to create user accounts or to add users to existing groups. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Persistence |
| BIOC | Active directory enumeration using built-in nltest.exe Nltest.exe is a command-line tool used for network administrative tasks, and can be used to gather information about domain controllers and users. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | ADFind queries Active Directory for Exchange groups A process executed with ADFind parameters and used to extract data on built-in groups for the Exchange server (e.g. "Organization Management"). | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Administrator obtains access rights to a file using icacls.exe Grant an administrator file access privileges. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Adobe Acrobat Reader drops an executable file to disk The Acrobat Reader process dropped a new executable file to the disk. Unusual activity, possibly indicative of exploitation or social engineering attempt. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Initial Access |
| BIOC | Adobe reader spawns a browser If a user clicks a URL link contained in a PDF document, it will cause the Adobe Reader process to spawn a browser process. It has legitimate uses, but check for possible phishing attempts. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Initial Access |
| BIOC | An executable compiled with a py2exe-like program was executed A py2exe-like program DLL file dropped to disk. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Execution |
| BIOC | Base64 decoding using the base64 utility Base64 decoding using the base64 utility with the -d argument provided. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Base64 encoding used Attackers may use the base64 built-in binary to encode data into base64. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Command and Control |
| BIOC | Bitsadmin.exe used to download data Some attacks were known for abusing BITSAdmin in the past to hide how data was downloaded using legitimate Windows tools. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Persistence |
| BIOC | BitTorrent P2P file sharing The host used BitTorrent for P2P file sharing (according to the App-ID), which is typically not allowed in corporate networks and may be used to exfiltrate information. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Dml connection | Exfiltration |
| BIOC | Browser downloads an .hta or .application file .hta and .application files are Windows applications that may serve as an attack vector by executing code maliciously using trusted Windows applications. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Built-in SoundRecorder tool capturing audio SoundRecorder is a built-in voice recording tool. Besides benign usage, it may be used to discreetly record a user. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection |
| BIOC | Bypassing Windows UAC using sysprep Attackers may use the sysprep.exe built-in Windows tools to bypass Windows UAC. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Privilege Escalation |
| BIOC | Changing permissions or ownership of a file or folder Changing the permissions or ownership of a file or folder can be done to get access to sensitive data. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Chrome launched in Incognito mode May be used to cover up malware or malicious insider activity. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Clear event logging policy using auditpol.exe Attackers may clear Windows Event Logging policies using auditpol.exe. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Clearing logs by copying /dev/null to a log file Usage of the cp command to copy /dev/null to a file and clear its content. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Clearing logs by executing cat /dev/null Usage of cat /dev/null to clear the contents of a log file. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Cleartext password harvesting using find tools On Windows, the find and findstr tools can be used to find content in files on disk. This rule is looking for cases where the find command is looking for the string 'password', which indicates an attempt to find passwords. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Command enumeration via sudo The 'sudo -l' command was executed to enumerate commands that can be executed by a user. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Privilege Escalation |
| BIOC | Command-line creation of a RAR archive Compression of data into a RAR archive using the rar.exe utility. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection |
| BIOC | Common Apple process name missing Apple digital signature These common Apple process names should normally be signed with the Apple Inc. digital signature. Naming processes with common names is a common way attackers obfuscate their activities. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Common Mozilla process name missing Mozilla digital certificate These common Mozilla process names should normally be signed with the Mozilla Corporation digital signature. Naming processes with common names is a common way attackers obfuscate their activities. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Commonly abused host process modifies the Windows shim cache Has legitimate usage for Microsoft patches, but check for malicious execution for persistence. Known FIN7/Carbanak technique. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Persistence |
| BIOC | Commonly abused process executed with obfuscated characters Commonly abused process executed with obfuscated characters. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Commonly abused process executes by a remote host using PsExec This commonly abused shell/host process was spawned by psexesvc.exe, indicating it was called by a remote host via PsExec. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Lateral Movement, Execution |
| BIOC | Commonly abused process launches as a system service This commonly abused host process has been launched by a services.exe parent, indicating it has been installed as a system service. This behavior can have legitimate uses, but often used by malware as a persistence mechanism. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Execution |
| BIOC | Commonly abused process spawns from Scripted Diagnostics Host This Scripted Diagnostics Host (sdiagnhost.exe) process has been observed launching a commonly abused host process. This behavior is known to be associated with an exploitation technique designed to deliver a malicious payload, often via a weaponized document. https://www.proofpoint.com/us/threat-insight/post/windows-troubleshooting-platform-leveraged-deliver-malware. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Execution |
| BIOC | Commonly abused process spawns out of rundll32.exe This type of execution happens in .dll based attacks. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Compiled HTML (help file) makes network connections Compiled HTML (help files) should not normally need to connect to the network. This may have limited legitimate uses, yet this behavior is often observed by malware leveraging malicious CHM files to deliver a 2nd stage payload. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Network | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Compiler process started by an Office process The processes (csc.exe & vbc.exe) invoke compilers via command prompt and compile a payload on the fly. This is leveraged by attackers to create a new payload on every machine. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Compressed archive created using tar Attackers may use the tar built-in tool to stage a file for exfiltration. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection |
| BIOC | Container enumeration An attacker may run a command to enumerate containers on a machine. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Creation of a new Microsoft Office default template Microsoft Office contains default templates that open whenever you start Word or Excel. Attackers may create them to establish persistence. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Persistence |
| BIOC | Creation of volume shadow copy using vssadmin.exe An attacker may create volume shadow copies to gain access to protected or locked files, whereas backup is the common legitimate use. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Credentials from Web Browsers Detects attempt to copy browser files to acquire credentials. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Curl connects to an external network Curl is a command-line utility used to transfer data. Attackers may use curl to exfiltrate data outside your organization. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Network | Exfiltration |
| BIOC | Data destruction using sdelete.exe Attackers may use sdelete.exe to delete files from the target host. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion, Impact |
| BIOC | Direct access to free online DNS servers Online DNS servers are often used to bypass the company's internal DNS servers and evade detection. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Network | Command and Control |
| BIOC | Disable outlook security via Registry Attackers may try to disable outlook security features by modifying the Registry. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Disabling Windows Defender via Registry Windows Defender stores its configuration in the Registry. By modifying these values, an attacker can disable security features. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Discovery of files with setgid or setuid bits Attackers may try to locate files with setgid or setuid bits set to escalate privileges. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Privilege Escalation |
| BIOC | DNS resolution to the Palo Alto Networks sinkhole DNS resolution to the Palo Alto Networks sinkhole. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Network | Command and Control |
| BIOC | Document discovery Attackers may use the find command to look for documents. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Driver written to a temporary directory Drivers are highly unlikely to be written or moved to a temp directory. Check whether this driver is legitimate. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Encrypted zip archive creation Attackers may stage information for exfiltration by encrypting it beforehand in a zip archive. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Collection |
| BIOC | Enumeration command called by commonly abused CGO Some malware uses these commands for reconnaissance. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Enumeration of installed AV or FW products using WMIC Attackers often check for the existence of security tools before launching an attack, and this is one of the methods that can be used. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Enumeration of services via WMIC Attackers may enumerate existing services using wmic.exe. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery, Execution |
| BIOC | Enumeration of Windows services from public IP addresses Attackers may enumerate internet-facing services which use Windows protocols; as these services were not meant to be exposed to the internet, they may be attacked by enumerating users, brute-forcing passwords and through exploits. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Dml connection | Discovery |
| BIOC | Evasion using time-based properties Attackers may check Event Log to evade virtualized environments. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion, Discovery |
| BIOC | Excel Web Query file created on disk Excel uses Excel Web Query (.iqy) files to download data from the internet. There are campaigns in which .iqy files download a PowerShell script, which is launched via Excel and kicks off a chain of malicious downloads. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Initial Access |
| BIOC | Executable copied to remote host via admin share An executable file was written to a remote host's shared system folder (such as c:\ or c:\windows) from an unsigned CGO process. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Lateral Movement |
| BIOC | Execution of commonly abused AutoIT script AutoIT scripts have legitimate uses, but are often abused by malware to execute in a signed process context. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Execution of regsvcs/regasm with uncommon paths The regasm.exe/regsvcs.exe commands are used to register .NET COM assemblies, which are typically located in specific paths. Uncommon paths may indicate malicious code is being registered. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Execution of WSL Distro Detecting a new instance execution of Windows Subsystem for Linux distro. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | File renamed to have a script extension Adversaries may create 'benign-looking' files, which are later used as malicious scripts by changing their extension. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | File timestamp tampering An attacker may modify file timestamps by running the touch command to hide their activities. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Fltmc.exe used to unload filter driver Attackers can abuse the Filter Manager Control Program (fltMC.exe) to unload MiniFilter drivers, some of which may be used for activity monitoring. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Fontdrvhost.exe makes network connections A remote code execution vulnerability(CVE-2020-1020) exists in the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library. Network activity of the vulnerable process fontdrvhost.exe can be a possible indicator of exploitation. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Network | Execution |
| BIOC | Forensics Driver Loaded A forensics driver has been loaded. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Module | Collection, Credential Access |
| BIOC | Grepping for passwords Attackers may look for cleartext passwords in files using the grep command. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Group policy discovery using gpresult.exe Attackers may use gpresult.exe to gather information on Group Policy settings. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | GUI Input Capture Prompt user to supply a password in response to a System Preference dialog pop up message. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Hidden directory creation Attackers may create hidden directories to hide malware or staged files. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Hidden file and directory creation Creation of a hidden file inside a hidden directory. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Injection into ping.exe A process injected into an instance of ping.exe. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Remote code | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Installation of networking security tools A security or penetration testing tool such as wireshark and nmap is being installed. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Interface enumeration using netsh Attackers may enumerate existing network interfaces using netsh.exe. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Internet Explorer security settings modification The Security Settings Check feature, which checks Internet Explorer security settings to determine risk, was disabled. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | ISO mounted manually A user manually mounted an ISO file. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Kerberos brute-force attack using Kerbrute This is a known Kerbrute tool command, used to conduct Kerberos authentication brute-force attacks. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Kernel modules loaded via command-line tool The insmod/depmod command loads a kernel module; attackers may use kernel modules as rootkits. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Persistence |
| BIOC | Kernel modules loaded via compiled loader and .ko file Instead of using insmod/depmod, an attacker can build a loader and load a kernel module; attackers may use kernel modules as rootkits. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Persistence |
| BIOC | Key Certificate Search And Exfiltrate Possible attempt to search for key certificates and exfiltrate them. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Keychain Certificate Access Detected access to Keychain certificates. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Keychain Import Item An item was imported from the Keychain. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Keychain Unlock Detected Keychain unlocking. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Credential Access |
| BIOC | Linux network share discovery A Linux network share discovery command was executed. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Discovery |
| BIOC | Log deletion in known log file directories Deletion of log files in known log directories. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Log deletion using the truncate command Usage of the truncate utility using "-s 0" argument to clear log files. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Log deletion via command-line tool An attacker may use the rm command to remove traces of their activities. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | LOLBAS reading a Windows credential manager file Encrypted files under the path AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials are associated with saved passwords in the Windows system. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Credential Access |
| BIOC | MacOS firewall manipulation An attacker may modify a firewall via command line to bypass network controls. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Malicious NetSetupSvc.dll loaded into svchost.exe A module tied to SolarStorm (TEARDROP NetSetupSvc.dll) was loaded from a malicious location into svchost.exe. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Module | Execution |
| BIOC | Manipulation of 'BootExecute' Registry run key Smss.exe will launch anything present in the BootExecute Registry key under HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager. The BootExecute key should only contain "autocheck autochk*". If there are additional values in it, they are probably used for malware persistence. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Persistence |
| BIOC | Manipulation of AppInit DLL loading list The AppInit DLLs Registry key contains a list of DLLs that will be loaded when user32.dll is loaded. As most Windows executables use the user32.dll, any DLL that is listed in the AppInit_DLLs Registry key will be loaded also. The user32.dll file is also used by processes that are automatically started by the system when you log on. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Persistence |
| BIOC | Manipulation of Application Verifier custom providers The Application Verifier assists developers in quickly finding subtle programming errors that can be extremely difficult to identify with normal application testing. Using Application Verifier in Visual Studio makes it easier to create reliable applications by identifying errors caused by heap corruption, incorrect handle and critical section usage. Changing the providers could change handling. An attacker can use this ability to inject a custom verifier into any application. Once the custom verifier has been injected, the attacker now has full control over the application. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Persistence |
| BIOC | Manipulation of autostart related system files May be used as a malware persistence technique, as these files have relevancy to the startup routine of Windows. | Informational | Platform Analytics | File | Persistence |
| BIOC | Manipulation of Crypto Subject Interface Package (SIP) Provider Malicious modification of crypto subject interface package (SIP) provider Registry keys can be leveraged to trick the OS into incorrectly validating invalid signing certificates. May have legitimate uses, but check for malicious activity. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Defense Evasion |
| BIOC | Manipulation of default file association configuration When a file is opened, the default program used to open the file, its handler, is checked. File association selections are stored in the Windows Registry and can be edited by users. Malware can modify or create a file association for a given file extension to call another program when a given extension is opened. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Persistence |
| BIOC | Manipulation of MMC Registry configuration Creation or modification of these Microsoft Management Console related entries can cause the execution of the specified programs, bypassing UAC. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Privilege Escalation |
| BIOC | Manipulation of permissions for the Application Event Log Removing read/write permissions from this key may result in errors in the Application event log, and may cause certain VSS diagnostic tools to not function correctly. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc734219(v=ws.10).aspx. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Impact |
| BIOC | Manipulation of RDP settings Possible modification of Terminal Services/RDP settings. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Lateral Movement |
| BIOC | Manipulation of service imagepath configuration This key specifies the location of the executable file for the driver or service. Malicious executables might be installed in these paths. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Persistence |
| BIOC | Manipulation of Volume Shadow Copy configuration Modifying this key might remove VSS privileges from user accounts, possibly disabling Volume Shadow Copy. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Registry | Impact |
| BIOC | Manipulation of Windows Defender configuration Commands used to bypass, disable or harm Windows Defender. | Informational | Platform Analytics | Process execution | Defense Evasion |