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sigmacriticalHunting

CobaltStrike Named Pipe

Detects the creation of a named pipe as used by CobaltStrike

MITRE ATT&CK

defense-evasionprivilege-escalation

Detection Query

selection_MSSE:
  PipeName|contains|all:
    - \MSSE-
    - -server
selection_postex:
  PipeName|startswith: \postex_
selection_status:
  PipeName|startswith: \status_
selection_msagent:
  PipeName|startswith: \msagent_
selection_mojo:
  PipeName|startswith: \mojo_
selection_interprocess:
  PipeName|startswith: \interprocess_
selection_samr:
  PipeName|startswith: \samr_
selection_netlogon:
  PipeName|startswith: \netlogon_
selection_srvsvc:
  PipeName|startswith: \srvsvc_
selection_lsarpc:
  PipeName|startswith: \lsarpc_
selection_wkssvc:
  PipeName|startswith: \wkssvc_
condition: 1 of selection*

Author

Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Wojciech Lesicki

Created

2021-05-25

Data Sources

windowsNamed Pipe Events

Platforms

windows

Tags

attack.defense-evasionattack.privilege-escalationattack.t1055
Raw Content
title: CobaltStrike Named Pipe
id: d5601f8c-b26f-4ab0-9035-69e11a8d4ad2
related:
    - id: 85adeb13-4fc9-4e68-8a4a-c7cb2c336eb7 # Patterns
      type: similar
    - id: 0e7163d4-9e19-4fa7-9be6-000c61aad77a # Regex
      type: similar
status: test
description: Detects the creation of a named pipe as used by CobaltStrike
references:
    - https://twitter.com/d4rksystem/status/1357010969264873472
    - https://labs.f-secure.com/blog/detecting-cobalt-strike-default-modules-via-named-pipe-analysis/
    - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/issues/253
    - https://blog.cobaltstrike.com/2021/02/09/learn-pipe-fitting-for-all-of-your-offense-projects/
    - https://redcanary.com/threat-detection-report/threats/cobalt-strike/
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Wojciech Lesicki
date: 2021-05-25
modified: 2022-10-31
tags:
    - attack.defense-evasion
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.t1055
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: pipe_created
    definition: 'Note that you have to configure logging for Named Pipe Events in Sysmon config (Event ID 17 and Event ID 18). The basic configuration is in popular sysmon configuration (https://github.com/SwiftOnSecurity/sysmon-config), but it is worth verifying. You can also use other repo, e.g. https://github.com/Neo23x0/sysmon-config, https://github.com/olafhartong/sysmon-modular. How to test detection? You can always use Cobalt Strike, but also you can check powershell script from this site https://svch0st.medium.com/guide-to-named-pipes-and-hunting-for-cobalt-strike-pipes-dc46b2c5f575'
detection:
    selection_MSSE:
        PipeName|contains|all:
            - '\MSSE-'
            - '-server'
    selection_postex:
        PipeName|startswith: '\postex_' # Also include the pipe "\postex_ssh_"
    selection_status:
        PipeName|startswith: '\status_'
    selection_msagent:
        PipeName|startswith: '\msagent_'
    selection_mojo:
        PipeName|startswith: '\mojo_'
    selection_interprocess:
        PipeName|startswith: '\interprocess_'
    selection_samr:
        PipeName|startswith: '\samr_'
    selection_netlogon:
        PipeName|startswith: '\netlogon_'
    selection_srvsvc:
        PipeName|startswith: '\srvsvc_'
    selection_lsarpc:
        PipeName|startswith: '\lsarpc_'
    selection_wkssvc:
        PipeName|startswith: '\wkssvc_'
    condition: 1 of selection*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: critical