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Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle - ProcessCreation

Detects suspicious powershell download cradle using nslookup. This cradle uses nslookup to extract payloads from DNS records

Detection Query

selection_img:
  - Image|contains: \nslookup.exe
  - OriginalFileName: \nslookup.exe
selection_cmd:
  ParentImage|endswith:
    - \powershell.exe
    - \pwsh.exe
  CommandLine|contains:
    - " -q=txt "
    - " -querytype=txt "
condition: all of selection_*

Author

Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Created

2022-09-05

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

https://twitter.com/Alh4zr3d/status/1566489367232651264

Tags

attack.defense-evasion

Raw Content

title: Nslookup PowerShell Download Cradle - ProcessCreation
id: 1b3b01c7-84e9-4072-86e5-fc285a41ff23
related:
    - id: 72671447-4352-4413-bb91-b85569687135
      type: obsolete
    - id: 999bff6d-dc15-44c9-9f5c-e1051bfc86e1
      type: similar
status: test
description: Detects suspicious powershell download cradle using nslookup. This cradle uses nslookup to extract payloads from DNS records
references:
    - https://twitter.com/Alh4zr3d/status/1566489367232651264
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-09-05
modified: 2022-12-19
tags:
    - attack.defense-evasion
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|contains: '\nslookup.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: '\nslookup.exe'
    selection_cmd:
        ParentImage|endswith:
            - '\powershell.exe'
            - '\pwsh.exe'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - ' -q=txt '
            - ' -querytype=txt '
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium