Execution via MSSQL xp_cmdshell Stored Procedure

Elastic Stack Serverless Security

Identifies execution using the MSSQL stored procedure xp_cmdshell. Malicious users may attempt to elevate their privileges by using xp_cmdshell, which is disabled by default; thus, it’s important to review the context of its use.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

winlogbeat-*
logs-endpoint.events.*
logs-windows.*

Severity: high

Risk score: 73

Runs every: 5m

Searches indices from: now-9m (https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/common-options.html#date-math[Date Math format], see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References: None

Tags:

Elastic
Host
Windows
Threat Detection
Execution

Version: 5

Rule authors:

Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Investigation guide

Config

If enabling an EQL rule on a non-elastic-agent index (such as beats) for versions <8.2, events will not define event.ingested and default fallback for EQL rules was not added until 8.2, so you will need to add a custom pipeline to populate event.ingested to @timestamp for this rule to work.

Rule query

		process where event.type in ("start", "process_started") and
  process.name : "cmd.exe" and process.parent.name : "sqlservr.exe"

Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM

Tactic:
- Name: Execution
- ID: TA0002
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/
Technique:
- Name: Command and Scripting Interpreter
- ID: T1059
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/