Windows Command and Scripting Interpreter Hunting Path Traversal

name: Windows Command and Scripting Interpreter Hunting Path Traversal
id: d0026380-b3c4-4da0-ac8e-02790063ff6b
version: 8
creation_date: '2022-05-30'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Michael Haag, Splunk
status: production
type: Hunting
description: |
    The following analytic identifies path traversal command-line executions,
    leveraging data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. It detects patterns
    in command-line arguments indicative of path traversal techniques, such as multiple
    instances of "/..", "\..", or "\\..". This activity is significant as it often indicates
    attempts to evade defenses by executing malicious code, such as through msdt.exe.
    If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to execute arbitrary
    code, potentially leading to system compromise, data exfiltration, or further lateral
    movement within the network.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 1
    - Windows Event Log Security 4688
    - CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search: |
    | tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time)
    as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where
    Processes.process IN ("*\\..*", "*//..*", "*\..*", "*/..*")
    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)`
    | eval count_of_pattern1 = (mvcount(split(process,"/.."))-1)
    | eval count_of_pattern2 = (mvcount(split(process,"\.."))-1)
    | eval count_of_pattern3 = (mvcount(split(process,"\\.."))-1)
    | eval count_of_pattern4 = (mvcount(split(process,"//.."))-1)

    | search count_of_pattern1 > 1
             OR
             count_of_pattern2 > 1
             OR
             count_of_pattern3 > 1
             OR
             count_of_pattern4 > 1
    | `windows_command_and_scripting_interpreter_hunting_path_traversal_filter`
how_to_implement: |
    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: |
    False positives may vary depending on the score you want to check.
references:
    - https://app.any.run/tasks/713f05d2-fe78-4b9d-a744-f7c133e3fafb/
analytic_story:
    - Windows Defense Evasion Tactics
    - Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool Vulnerability CVE-2022-30190
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1059
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1059/path_traversal/sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
      test_type: unit