sigmamediumHunting

ESXi VM List Discovery Via ESXCLI

Detects execution of the "esxcli" command with the "vm" flag in order to retrieve information about the installed VMs.

MITRE ATT&CK

discoveryexecution

Detection Query

selection:
  Image|endswith: /esxcli
  CommandLine|contains: vm process
  CommandLine|endswith: " list"
condition: selection

Author

Cedric Maurugeon

Created

2023-09-04

Data Sources

linuxProcess Creation Events

Platforms

linux

References

Tags

attack.discoveryattack.executionattack.t1033attack.t1007attack.t1059.012

Raw Content

title: ESXi VM List Discovery Via ESXCLI
id: 5f1573a7-363b-4114-9208-ad7a61de46eb
status: test
description: Detects execution of the "esxcli" command with the "vm" flag in order to retrieve information about the installed VMs.
references:
    - https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/hypervisor-jackpotting-ecrime-actors-increase-targeting-of-esxi-servers/
    - https://developer.broadcom.com/xapis/esxcli-command-reference/7.0.0/namespace/esxcli_vm.html
    - https://www.secuinfra.com/en/techtalk/hide-your-hypervisor-analysis-of-esxiargs-ransomware/
    - https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/22/e/new-linux-based-ransomware-cheerscrypt-targets-exsi-devices.html
author: Cedric Maurugeon
date: 2023-09-04
tags:
    - attack.discovery
    - attack.execution
    - attack.t1033
    - attack.t1007
    - attack.t1059.012
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: linux
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '/esxcli'
        CommandLine|contains: 'vm process'
        CommandLine|endswith: ' list'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate administration activities
level: medium