SUNBURST Command and Control Activity

The malware known as SUNBURST targets the SolarWind’s Orion business software for command and control. This rule detects post-exploitation command and control activity of the SUNBURST backdoor.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

logs-endpoint.events.*

Severity: high

Risk score: 73

Runs every: 5 minutes

Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References:

https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2020/12/evasive-attacker-leverages-solarwinds-supply-chain-compromises-with-sunburst-backdoor.html

Tags:

Elastic
Host
Windows
Threat Detection
Command and Control

Version: 4 (version history)

Added (Elastic Stack release): 7.11.0

Last modified (Elastic Stack release): 7.13.0

Rule authors: Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Investigation guide

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## Triage and analysis

The SUNBURST malware attempts to hide within the Orion Improvement Program (OIP) network traffic. As this rule detects post-exploitation network traffic, investigations into this should be prioritized.

Rule query

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network where event.type == "protocol" and network.protocol == "http"
and process.name : ("ConfigurationWizard.exe",
"NetFlowService.exe",
"NetflowDatabaseMaintenance.exe",
"SolarWinds.Administration.exe",
"SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHost.exe",
"SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHostx64.exe",
"SolarWinds.Collector.Service.exe",
"SolarwindsDiagnostics.exe") and (http.request.body.content :
"*/swip/Upload.ashx*" and http.request.body.content : ("POST*",
"PUT*")) or (http.request.body.content :
("*/swip/SystemDescription*", "*/swip/Events*") and
http.request.body.content : ("GET*", "HEAD*")) and not
http.request.body.content : "*solarwinds.com*"

Threat mapping

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Framework: MITRE ATT&CK^TM

Tactic:
- Name: Command and Control
- ID: TA0011
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0011/
Technique:
- Name: Application Layer Protocol
- ID: T1071
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1071/
Tactic:
- Name: Initial Access
- ID: TA0001
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0001/
Technique:
- Name: Supply Chain Compromise
- ID: T1195
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1195/

Rule version history

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Version 4 (7.13.0 release)

Updated query, changed from:

event.category:network and event.type:protocol and
network.protocol:http and process.name:( ConfigurationWizard.exe or
NetFlowService.exe or NetflowDatabaseMaintenance.exe or
SolarWinds.Administration.exe or SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHost.exe or
SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHostx64.exe or
SolarWinds.Collector.Service.exe or SolarwindsDiagnostics.exe) and
http.request.body.content:(( (*/swip/Upload.ashx* and (POST* or PUT*))
or (*/swip/SystemDescription* and (GET* or HEAD*)) or (*/swip/Events*
and (GET* or HEAD*))) and not *solarwinds.com*)

Version 3 (7.12.0 release)

Formatting only

Version 2 (7.11.2 release)

Formatting only

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