sigmamediumHunting

Forfiles Command Execution

Detects the execution of "forfiles" with the "/c" flag. While this is an expected behavior of the tool, it can be abused in order to proxy execution through it with any binary. Can be used to bypass application whitelisting.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1059

execution

Detection Query

selection_img:
  - Image|endswith: \forfiles.exe
  - OriginalFileName: forfiles.exe
selection_cli:
  CommandLine|contains|windash: " -c "
condition: all of selection_*

Author

Tim Rauch, Elastic, E.M. Anhaus (originally from Atomic Blue Detections, Endgame), oscd.community

Created

2022-06-14

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.executionattack.t1059

Raw Content

title: Forfiles Command Execution
id: 9aa5106d-bce3-4b13-86df-3a20f1d5cf0b
related:
    - id: a85cf4e3-56ee-4e79-adeb-789f8fb209a8
      type: obsolete
    - id: fa47597e-90e9-41cd-ab72-c3b74cfb0d02
      type: obsolete
status: test
description: |
    Detects the execution of "forfiles" with the "/c" flag.
    While this is an expected behavior of the tool, it can be abused in order to proxy execution through it with any binary.
    Can be used to bypass application whitelisting.
references:
    - https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/Binaries/Forfiles/
    - https://pentestlab.blog/2020/07/06/indirect-command-execution/
author: Tim Rauch, Elastic, E.M. Anhaus (originally from Atomic Blue Detections, Endgame), oscd.community
date: 2022-06-14
modified: 2024-03-05
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.t1059
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith: '\forfiles.exe'
        - OriginalFileName: 'forfiles.exe'
    selection_cli:
        CommandLine|contains|windash: ' -c '
    condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use via a batch script or by an administrator.
level: medium