sigmamediumHunting

Potentially Suspicious JWT Token Search Via CLI

Detects potentially suspicious search for JWT tokens via CLI by looking for the string "eyJ0eX" or "eyJhbG". JWT tokens are often used for access-tokens across various applications and services like Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and others. Threat actors may search for these tokens to steal them for lateral movement or privilege escalation.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1528 T1552.001

credential-access

Detection Query

selection_tools:
  CommandLine|contains:
    - "find "
    - find.exe
    - findstr
    - "select-string "
    - strings
selection_jwt_string:
  CommandLine|contains:
    - eyJ0eXAiOi
    - eyJhbGciOi
    - " eyJ0eX"
    - ' "eyJ0eX"'
    - " 'eyJ0eX'"
    - " eyJhbG"
    - ' "eyJhbG"'
    - " 'eyJhbG'"
condition: all of selection_*

Author

Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), kagebunsher

Created

2022-10-25

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.credential-accessattack.t1528attack.t1552.001

Raw Content

title: Potentially Suspicious JWT Token Search Via CLI
id: 6d3a3952-6530-44a3-8554-cf17c116c615
status: test
description: |
    Detects potentially suspicious search for JWT tokens via CLI by looking for the string "eyJ0eX" or "eyJhbG".
    JWT tokens are often used for access-tokens across various applications and services like Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and others.
    Threat actors may search for these tokens to steal them for lateral movement or privilege escalation.
references:
    - https://mrd0x.com/stealing-tokens-from-office-applications/
    - https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20240523
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), kagebunsher
date: 2022-10-25
modified: 2025-10-21
tags:
    - attack.credential-access
    - attack.t1528
    - attack.t1552.001
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_tools:
        CommandLine|contains:
            - 'find '
            - 'find.exe'
            - 'findstr'
            - 'select-string '
            - 'strings'
    selection_jwt_string:
        CommandLine|contains:
            - 'eyJ0eXAiOi' # {"typ":
            - 'eyJhbGciOi' # {"alg":
            - ' eyJ0eX'
            - ' "eyJ0eX"'
            - " 'eyJ0eX'"
            - ' eyJhbG'
            - ' "eyJhbG"'
            - " 'eyJhbG'"
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium