Python Script Execution via Command Line

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Identifies when a Python script is executed using command line input and imports the sys module. Attackers often use this method to execute malicious scripts and avoiding writing it to disk.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

  • auditbeat-*
  • logs-endpoint.events.*

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: None

Tags:

  • Domain: Endpoint
  • OS: Linux
  • OS: macOS
  • OS: Windows
  • Use Case: Threat Detection
  • Tactic: Execution
  • Data Source: Elastic Defend

Version: 1

Rule authors:

  • Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Setup

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Setup

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 version 8.2. Hence for this rule to work effectively, users will need to add a custom ingest pipeline to populate event.ingested to @timestamp. For more details on adding a custom ingest pipeline refer - https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/fleet/current/data-streams-pipeline-tutorial.html

Rule query

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process where event.type in ("start", "process_started") and
 process.name : "python*" and process.args : "-c" and process.args : "*import*sys*"

Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM