sigmamediumHunting

Potential Persistence Via VMwareToolBoxCmd.EXE VM State Change Script

Detects execution of the "VMwareToolBoxCmd.exe" with the "script" and "set" flag to setup a specific script to run for a specific VM state

MITRE ATT&CK

T1059

executionpersistence

Detection Query

selection_img:
  - Image|endswith: \VMwareToolBoxCmd.exe
  - OriginalFileName: toolbox-cmd.exe
selection_cli:
  CommandLine|contains|all:
    - " script "
    - " set "
condition: all of selection_*

Author

Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Created

2023-06-14

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.executionattack.persistenceattack.t1059

Raw Content

title: Potential Persistence Via VMwareToolBoxCmd.EXE VM State Change Script
id: 7aa4e81a-a65c-4e10-9f81-b200eb229d7d
related:
    - id: 236d8e89-ed95-4789-a982-36f4643738ba
      type: derived
status: test
description: Detects execution of the "VMwareToolBoxCmd.exe" with the "script" and "set" flag to setup a specific script to run for a specific VM state
references:
    - https://bohops.com/2021/10/08/analyzing-and-detecting-a-vmtools-persistence-technique/
    - https://www.hexacorn.com/blog/2017/01/14/beyond-good-ol-run-key-part-53/
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2023-06-14
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1059
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\VMwareToolBoxCmd.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'toolbox-cmd.exe'
    selection_cli:
        CommandLine|contains|all:
            - ' script '
            - ' set '
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium