launching-cmd-echo[Nobelium]

id: c250fb07-a349-4c2c-a38c-2321e32235ca
name: launching-cmd-echo[Nobelium]
description: |
  This query was originally published in the threat analytics report, Solorigate supply chain attack. Please note that these attacks are currently known as the Nobelium campaign.
  Microsoft detects the 2020 SolarWinds supply chain attack implant and its other components as part of a campaign by the Nobelium activity group. Nobelium is the threat actor behind the attack against SolarWinds, which was previously referred to as Solorigate.
  Nobelium silently added malicious code to legitimate software updates for Orion, which is IT monitoring software provided by SolarWinds. In this way, malicious dynamic link libraries (DLLs) were distributed to SolarWinds customers.
  The following query detects events when SolarWinds processes attempted to launch the cmd.exe command prompt using the 'echo' command. Using 'echo' in this way is suspicious, as it is an indirect way of issuing commands, and may not be readily detected by certain kinds of security solutions.
  More Nobelium-related queries can be found listed under the See also section of this document.
  References:
  https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2020/12/13/customer-guidance-on-recent-nation-state-cyber-attacks/
  https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/12/18/analyzing-solorigate-the-compromised-dll-file-that-started-a-sophisticated-cyberattack-and-how-microsoft-defender-helps-protect/
  https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/cmd
requiredDataConnectors:
- connectorId: MicrosoftThreatProtection
  dataTypes:
  - DeviceProcessEvents
tactics:
- Execution
- Defense evasion
tags:
- Nobelium
query: |
  DeviceProcessEvents
  | where InitiatingProcessFileName =~ "SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHost.exe"
  | where FileName == "cmd.exe" and ProcessCommandLine has "echo"