MSBuild with Unusual Arguments
Description
Identifies the execution of the built-in MSBuild utility with a suspicious count of command line arguments (less than three). Adversaries may use MSBuild to proxy the execution of malicious code via a trusted Windows utility.
Query · eql
process where event.action == "start" and
process.pe.original_file_name == "MSBuild.exe" and process.args_count == 2 and
/* FP - expected developers msbuild installation directories */
not process.executable : ("?:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\*",
"?:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\*",
"?:\\Program Files (x86)\\MSBuild\\*",
"?:\\Program Files\\MSBuild\\*") and
not process.command_line : ("* /*", "* .\\*", "*.proj*", "*.sln*") and
/* FP - Third Party Programs except MS Office */
not (process.parent.executable : ("?:\\Program Files (x86)\\*.exe", "?:\\Program Files\\*.exe") and
not process.parent.name :
("winword.exe",
"excel.exe",
"outlook.exe",
"powerpnt.exe",
"eqnedt32.exe",
"fltldr.exe",
"mspub.exe",
"msaccess.exe"))