A newer version is available. For the latest information, see the
current release documentation.
Port Forwarding Rule Addition
editPort Forwarding Rule Addition
editIdentifies the creation of a new port forwarding rule. An adversary may abuse this technique to bypass network segmentation restrictions.
Rule type: eql
Rule indices:
- winlogbeat-*
- logs-endpoint.events.*
- logs-windows.*
Severity: medium
Risk score: 47
Runs every: 5m
Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time
)
Maximum alerts per execution: 100
References:
Tags:
- Elastic
- Host
- Windows
- Threat Detection
- Command and Control
Version: 6
Rule authors:
- Elastic
Rule license: Elastic License v2
Investigation guide
edit## Triage and analysis ### Investigating Port Forwarding Rule Addition Network port forwarding is a mechanism to redirect incoming TCP connections (IPv4 or IPv6) from the local TCP port to any other port number, or even to a port on a remote computer. Attackers may configure port forwarding rules to bypass network segmentation restrictions, using the host as a jump box to access previously unreachable systems. This rule monitors the modifications to the `HKLM\SYSTEM\*ControlSet*\Services\PortProxy\v4tov4\` subkeys. #### Possible investigation steps - Investigate the process execution chain (parent process tree). - Identify the user account that performed the action and whether it should perform this kind of action. - Contact the account owner and confirm whether they are aware of this activity. - Investigate other alerts associated with the user/host during the past 48 hours. - Check for similar behavior in other hosts on the environment. - Identify the target host IP address, verify if connections were made from the host where the modification occurred, and check what credentials were used to perform it. - Investigate suspicious login activity, such as unauthorized access and logins from outside working hours and unusual locations. ### False positive analysis - This mechanism can be used legitimately. Analysts can dismiss the alert if the Administrator is aware of the activity and there are justifications for this configuration. - If this activity is expected and noisy in your environment, consider adding exceptions — preferably with a combination of user and command line conditions. ### Response and remediation - Initiate the incident response process based on the outcome of the triage. - Delete the port forwarding rule. - Isolate the involved host to prevent further post-compromise behavior. - If potential malware or credential compromise activities were discovered during the alert triage, activate the respective incident response plan. ## Config If enabling an EQL rule on a non-elastic-agent index (such as beats) for versions <8.2, events will not define `event.ingested` and default fallback for EQL rules was not added until 8.2, so you will need to add a custom pipeline to populate `event.ingested` to @timestamp for this rule to work.
Rule query
editregistry where registry.path : "HKLM\\SYSTEM\\*ControlSet*\\Services\\PortProxy\\v4tov4\\*"
Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM
-
Tactic:
- Name: Command and Control
- ID: TA0011
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0011/
-
Technique:
- Name: Protocol Tunneling
- ID: T1572
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1572/