sigmamediumHunting

Program Executed Using Proxy/Local Command Via SSH.EXE

Detect usage of the "ssh.exe" binary as a proxy to launch other programs.

MITRE ATT&CK

defense-evasion

Detection Query

selection_parent:
  ParentImage: C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH\sshd.exe
selection_cli_img:
  - Image|endswith: \ssh.exe
  - Product: OpenSSH for Windows
  - Hashes|contains:
      - IMPHASH=55b4964d29aad5438b9e950052dbbbc0
      - IMPHASH=334d66c33503ccbf647c15b47c27eef4
      - IMPHASH=27b0da080ef92afb37983d30d839141e
      - IMPHASH=977eb4c263d384e47daa0712d34713ab
      - IMPHASH=3eaadce9ae43d5a918bb082065815c3b
      - IMPHASH=980fe6cf0d996ab1eedf877222e722aa
      - IMPHASH=5f959422308ac3d721010d66647e100e
      - IMPHASH=a49aaa3d03d1cd9c8dc7fca60f7f480b
      - IMPHASH=dd335f759b6d5d6a8382b71dd9d65791
selection_cli_flags:
  - CommandLine|contains: ProxyCommand=
  - CommandLine|contains|all:
      - PermitLocalCommand=yes
      - " LocalCommand"
condition: selection_parent or all of selection_cli_*

Author

frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali

Created

2022-12-29

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.defense-evasionattack.t1218

Raw Content

title: Program Executed Using Proxy/Local Command Via SSH.EXE
id: 7d6d30b8-5b91-4b90-a891-46cccaf29598
status: test
description: Detect usage of the "ssh.exe" binary as a proxy to launch other programs.
references:
    - https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/Binaries/Ssh/
    - https://github.com/LOLBAS-Project/LOLBAS/pull/211/files
    - https://gtfobins.github.io/gtfobins/ssh/
    - https://man.openbsd.org/ssh_config#ProxyCommand
    - https://man.openbsd.org/ssh_config#LocalCommand
author: frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali
date: 2022-12-29
modified: 2025-10-16
tags:
    - attack.defense-evasion
    - attack.t1218
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_parent:
        # ParentCommandLine: '"C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH\sshd.exe" -R'
        ParentImage: 'C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH\sshd.exe'
    selection_cli_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\ssh.exe'
        - Product: 'OpenSSH for Windows'
        - Hashes|contains:
              - 'IMPHASH=55b4964d29aad5438b9e950052dbbbc0'
              - 'IMPHASH=334d66c33503ccbf647c15b47c27eef4'
              - 'IMPHASH=27b0da080ef92afb37983d30d839141e'
              - 'IMPHASH=977eb4c263d384e47daa0712d34713ab'
              - 'IMPHASH=3eaadce9ae43d5a918bb082065815c3b'
              - 'IMPHASH=980fe6cf0d996ab1eedf877222e722aa'
              - 'IMPHASH=5f959422308ac3d721010d66647e100e'
              - 'IMPHASH=a49aaa3d03d1cd9c8dc7fca60f7f480b'
              - 'IMPHASH=dd335f759b6d5d6a8382b71dd9d65791'
    selection_cli_flags:
        - CommandLine|contains: 'ProxyCommand='
        - CommandLine|contains|all:
              - 'PermitLocalCommand=yes'
              - ' LocalCommand'
    condition: selection_parent or all of selection_cli_*
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate usage for administration purposes
level: medium