PsExec Network Connectionedit

Identifies use of the SysInternals tool PsExec.exe making a network connection. This could be an indication of lateral movement.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

  • winlogbeat-*
  • logs-endpoint.events.*
  • logs-windows.*

Severity: low

Risk score: 21

Runs every: 5 minutes

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

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

Tags:

  • Elastic
  • Host
  • Windows
  • Threat Detection
  • Execution

Version: 7 (version history)

Added (Elastic Stack release): 7.6.0

Last modified (Elastic Stack release): 7.12.0

Rule authors: Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Potential false positivesedit

PsExec is a dual-use tool that can be used for benign or malicious activity. It’s important to baseline your environment to determine the amount of noise to expect from this tool.

Rule queryedit

sequence by process.entity_id [process where process.name :
"PsExec.exe" and event.type == "start"] [network where process.name
: "PsExec.exe"]

Threat mappingedit

Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM

Rule version historyedit

Version 7 (7.12.0 release)
  • Formatting only
Version 6 (7.11.0 release)
  • Formatting only
Version 5 (7.10.0 release)
  • Updated query, changed from:

    event.category:network and event.type:connection and
    process.name:PsExec.exe
Version 4 (7.9.1 release)
  • Formatting only
Version 3 (7.9.0 release)
  • Updated query, changed from:

    process.name:PsExec.exe and event.action:"Network connection detected
    (rule: NetworkConnect)"
Version 2 (7.7.0 release)
  • Updated query, changed from:

    process.name:PsExec.exe and event.action:"Network connection detected
    (rule: NetworkConnect)"