Windows AdFind Exe
Description
The following analytic identifies the execution of adfind.exe standalone or with specific command-line arguments related to Active Directory queries. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names, command-line arguments, and parent Processes. This activity is significant because adfind.exe is a powerful tool often used by threat actors like Wizard Spider and FIN6 to gather sensitive AD information. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to map the AD environment, facilitating further attacks such as privilege escalation or lateral movement.
Query · spl
| tstats `security_content_summariesonly`
count min(_time) as firstTime
max(_time) as lastTime
from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where
(
Processes.process_name = "AdFind.exe"
OR
Processes.original_file_name = "AdFind.exe"
)
OR
(
Processes.process IN ("* -f *", "* /f*")
Processes.process = "*objectcategory=*"
)
OR
(
Processes.process IN ("* -sc *", "* /sc *")
Processes.process IN ("* -gcb *", "* /gcb *")
)
OR
(
Processes.process IN ("* -sc *", "* /sc *")
Processes.process IN (
"* trustdmp*",
"* dclist*",
"* dcdmp*",
"* adobjcnt*",
"* adamobjcnt*",
"* sdump*",
"* exchaddresses*",
"* getacl*",
"* domainlist*",
"* export_user*",
"* export_group*",
"* admincountdmp*"
)
)
by Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name Processes.parent_process
Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid Processes.parent_process_id
Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path Processes.process Processes.process_exec
Processes.process_guid Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level
Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product
| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `windows_adfind_exe_filter`
Implementation guide
The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the Processes node of the Endpoint data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
Known false positives
- ADfind is a command-line tool for AD administration and management that is seen to be leveraged by various adversaries. Filter out legitimate administrator usage using the filter macro.
Analyst notes
Known false positives: ADfind is a command-line tool for AD administration and management that is seen to be leveraged by various adversaries. Filter out legitimate administrator usage using the filter macro.