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sigmamediumHunting
Potential Recon Activity Via Nltest.EXE
Detects nltest commands that can be used for information discovery
Detection Query
selection_nltest:
- Image|endswith: \nltest.exe
- OriginalFileName: nltestrk.exe
selection_recon:
- CommandLine|contains|all:
- server
- query
- CommandLine|contains:
- /user
- all_trusts
- "dclist:"
- "dnsgetdc:"
- domain_trusts
- "dsgetdc:"
- parentdomain
- trusted_domains
condition: all of selection_*
Author
Craig Young, oscd.community, Georg Lauenstein
Created
2021-07-24
Data Sources
windowsProcess Creation Events
Platforms
windows
References
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-r2-and-2012/cc731935(v=ws.11)
- https://thedfirreport.com/2021/08/16/trickbot-leads-up-to-fake-1password-installation/
- https://thedfirreport.com/2020/10/18/ryuk-in-5-hours/
- https://book.hacktricks.xyz/windows/basic-cmd-for-pentesters
- https://research.nccgroup.com/2022/08/19/back-in-black-unlocking-a-lockbit-3-0-ransomware-attack/
- https://eqllib.readthedocs.io/en/latest/analytics/03e231a6-74bc-467a-acb1-e5676b0fb55e.html
- https://redcanary.com/blog/how-one-hospital-thwarted-a-ryuk-ransomware-outbreak/
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/5360c9d9ffa3b25f6495f7a16e267b719eba2c37/atomics/T1482/T1482.md#atomic-test-2---windows---discover-domain-trusts-with-nltest
Tags
attack.discoveryattack.t1016attack.t1482
Raw Content
title: Potential Recon Activity Via Nltest.EXE
id: 5cc90652-4cbd-4241-aa3b-4b462fa5a248
related:
- id: 410ad193-a728-4107-bc79-4419789fcbf8
type: similar
- id: 903076ff-f442-475a-b667-4f246bcc203b
type: similar
- id: 77815820-246c-47b8-9741-e0def3f57308
type: obsolete
status: test
description: Detects nltest commands that can be used for information discovery
references:
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-r2-and-2012/cc731935(v=ws.11)
- https://thedfirreport.com/2021/08/16/trickbot-leads-up-to-fake-1password-installation/
- https://thedfirreport.com/2020/10/18/ryuk-in-5-hours/
- https://book.hacktricks.xyz/windows/basic-cmd-for-pentesters
- https://research.nccgroup.com/2022/08/19/back-in-black-unlocking-a-lockbit-3-0-ransomware-attack/
- https://eqllib.readthedocs.io/en/latest/analytics/03e231a6-74bc-467a-acb1-e5676b0fb55e.html
- https://redcanary.com/blog/how-one-hospital-thwarted-a-ryuk-ransomware-outbreak/
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/5360c9d9ffa3b25f6495f7a16e267b719eba2c37/atomics/T1482/T1482.md#atomic-test-2---windows---discover-domain-trusts-with-nltest
author: Craig Young, oscd.community, Georg Lauenstein
date: 2021-07-24
modified: 2023-12-15
tags:
- attack.discovery
- attack.t1016
- attack.t1482
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_nltest:
- Image|endswith: '\nltest.exe'
- OriginalFileName: 'nltestrk.exe'
selection_recon:
- CommandLine|contains|all:
- 'server'
- 'query'
- CommandLine|contains:
- '/user'
- 'all_trusts' # Flag for /domain_trusts
- 'dclist:'
- 'dnsgetdc:'
- 'domain_trusts'
- 'dsgetdc:'
- 'parentdomain'
- 'trusted_domains'
condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
- Legitimate administration use but user and host must be investigated
level: medium