Deprecated - Process Termination followed by Deletion

  1[metadata]
  2creation_date = "2020/11/04"
  3deprecation_date = "2026/02/04"
  4integration = ["endpoint"]
  5maturity = "deprecated"
  6updated_date = "2026/02/04"
  7
  8[transform]
  9[[transform.osquery]]
 10label = "Osquery - Retrieve DNS Cache"
 11query = "SELECT * FROM dns_cache"
 12
 13[[transform.osquery]]
 14label = "Osquery - Retrieve All Services"
 15query = "SELECT description, display_name, name, path, pid, service_type, start_type, status, user_account FROM services"
 16
 17[[transform.osquery]]
 18label = "Osquery - Retrieve Services Running on User Accounts"
 19query = """
 20SELECT description, display_name, name, path, pid, service_type, start_type, status, user_account FROM services WHERE
 21NOT (user_account LIKE '%LocalSystem' OR user_account LIKE '%LocalService' OR user_account LIKE '%NetworkService' OR
 22user_account == null)
 23"""
 24
 25[[transform.osquery]]
 26label = "Osquery - Retrieve Service Unsigned Executables with Virustotal Link"
 27query = """
 28SELECT concat('https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/', sha1) AS VtLink, name, description, start_type, status, pid,
 29services.path FROM services JOIN authenticode ON services.path = authenticode.path OR services.module_path =
 30authenticode.path JOIN hash ON services.path = hash.path WHERE authenticode.result != 'trusted'
 31"""
 32
 33
 34[rule]
 35author = ["Elastic"]
 36description = """
 37Identifies a process termination event quickly followed by the deletion of its executable file. Malware tools and other
 38non-native files dropped or created on a system by an adversary may leave traces to indicate to what occurred. Removal
 39of these files can occur during an intrusion, or as part of a post-intrusion process to minimize the adversary's
 40footprint.
 41"""
 42from = "now-9m"
 43index = ["logs-endpoint.events.process-*", "logs-endpoint.events.file-*"]
 44language = "eql"
 45license = "Elastic License v2"
 46name = "Deprecated - Process Termination followed by Deletion"
 47note = """## Triage and analysis
 48
 49### Investigating Deprecated - Process Termination followed by Deletion
 50
 51This rule identifies an unsigned process termination event quickly followed by the deletion of its executable file. Attackers can delete programs after their execution in an attempt to cover their tracks in a host.
 52
 53> **Note**:
 54> This investigation guide uses the [Osquery Markdown Plugin](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/invest-guide-run-osquery.html) introduced in Elastic Stack version 8.5.0. Older Elastic Stack versions will display unrendered Markdown in this guide.
 55
 56#### Possible investigation steps
 57
 58- Investigate the process execution chain (parent process tree) for unknown processes. Examine their executable files for prevalence, whether they are located in expected locations, and if they are signed with valid digital signatures.
 59- Investigate other alerts associated with the user/host during the past 48 hours.
 60- Investigate any abnormal behavior by the subject process such as network connections, registry or file modifications, command line and any spawned child processes.
 61- Examine the host for derived artifacts that indicate suspicious activities:
 62  - Analyze the process executable using a private sandboxed analysis system.
 63  - Observe and collect information about the following activities in both the sandbox and the alert subject host:
 64    - Attempts to contact external domains and addresses.
 65      - Use the Elastic Defend network events to determine domains and addresses contacted by the subject process by filtering by the process' `process.entity_id`.
 66      - Examine the DNS cache for suspicious or anomalous entries.
 67        - $osquery_0
 68    - Use the Elastic Defend registry events to examine registry keys accessed, modified, or created by the related processes in the process tree.
 69    - Examine the host services for suspicious or anomalous entries.
 70      - $osquery_1
 71      - $osquery_2
 72      - $osquery_3
 73  - Retrieve the files' SHA-256 hash values using the PowerShell `Get-FileHash` cmdlet and search for the existence and reputation of the hashes in resources like VirusTotal, Hybrid-Analysis, CISCO Talos, Any.run, etc.
 74- Assess whether this behavior is prevalent in the environment by looking for similar occurrences across hosts.
 75
 76
 77### False positive analysis
 78
 79- This activity is unlikely to happen legitimately, as programs that exhibit this behavior, such as installers and similar utilities, should be signed. Benign true positives (B-TPs) can be added as exceptions if necessary.
 80
 81### Response and remediation
 82
 83- Initiate the incident response process based on the outcome of the triage.
 84- Isolate the involved host to prevent further post-compromise behavior.
 85- If the triage identified malware, search the environment for additional compromised hosts.
 86  - Implement temporary network rules, procedures, and segmentation to contain the malware.
 87  - Stop suspicious processes.
 88  - Immediately block the identified indicators of compromise (IoCs).
 89  - Inspect the affected systems for additional malware backdoors like reverse shells, reverse proxies, or droppers that attackers could use to reinfect the system.
 90- Remove and block malicious artifacts identified during triage.
 91- Run a full antimalware scan. This may reveal additional artifacts left in the system, persistence mechanisms, and malware components.
 92- Determine the initial vector abused by the attacker and take action to prevent reinfection through the same vector.
 93- Using the incident response data, update logging and audit policies to improve the mean time to detect (MTTD) and the mean time to respond (MTTR).
 94"""
 95risk_score = 47
 96rule_id = "09443c92-46b3-45a4-8f25-383b028b258d"
 97severity = "medium"
 98tags = [
 99    "Domain: Endpoint",
100    "OS: Windows",
101    "Use Case: Threat Detection",
102    "Tactic: Defense Evasion",
103    "Data Source: Elastic Endgame",
104    "Resources: Investigation Guide",
105    "Data Source: Elastic Defend",
106]
107type = "eql"
108
109query = '''
110sequence by host.id with maxspan=5s
111   [process where host.os.type == "windows" and event.type == "end" and
112    process.code_signature.trusted != true and
113    not process.executable like
114             ("C:\\Windows\\SoftwareDistribution\\*.exe",
115              "C:\\Windows\\WinSxS\\*.exe",
116              "?:\\Windows\\Postillion\\Office\\*.exe") and
117    not (
118      process.name : "infinst.exe" and process.parent.name: "dxsetup.exe" and
119      process.parent.code_signature.subject_name == "NVIDIA Corporation" and
120      process.parent.code_signature.status == "trusted"
121    )
122   ] by process.executable
123   [file where host.os.type == "windows" and event.type == "deletion" and file.extension in~ ("exe", "scr", "com") and
124    not process.executable like
125             ("?:\\Program Files\\*.exe",
126              "?:\\Program Files (x86)\\*.exe",
127              "?:\\Windows\\System32\\svchost.exe",
128              "?:\\Windows\\System32\\drvinst.exe",
129              "?:\\Windows\\Postillion\\Office\\*.exe") and
130    not file.path like (
131          "?:\\Program Files\\*.exe",
132          "?:\\Program Files (x86)\\*.exe",
133          "?:\\Windows\\Temp\\*\\DismHost.exe",
134          "?:\\$WINDOWS.~BT\\Work\\*\\DismHost.exe",
135          "?:\\$WinREAgent\\Scratch\\*\\DismHost.exe",
136          "?:\\Windows\\tenable_mw_scan_*.exe",
137          "?:\\Users\\*\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\LogiUI\\Pak\\uninstall.exe",
138          "?:\\ProgramData\\chocolatey\\*.exe"
139    ) and
140    not (process.name : "OktaVerifySetup-*.exe" and process.code_signature.subject_name == "Okta, Inc.") and
141    not (
142      process.executable : "?:\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\config\\systemprofile\\Citrix\\UpdaterBinaries\\CitrixReceiver\\*" and
143      process.code_signature.subject_name == "Citrix Systems, Inc." and
144      file.path : "?:\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\config\\systemprofile\\Citrix\\UpdaterBinaries\\CitrixReceiver\\*\\bootstrapperhelper.exe"
145    )
146   ] by file.path
147'''
148
149
150[[rule.threat]]
151framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
152[[rule.threat.technique]]
153id = "T1036"
154name = "Masquerading"
155reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1036/"
156[[rule.threat.technique.subtechnique]]
157id = "T1036.001"
158name = "Invalid Code Signature"
159reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1036/001/"
160
161
162[[rule.threat.technique]]
163id = "T1070"
164name = "Indicator Removal"
165reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1070/"
166[[rule.threat.technique.subtechnique]]
167id = "T1070.004"
168name = "File Deletion"
169reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1070/004/"
170
171
172
173[rule.threat.tactic]
174id = "TA0005"
175name = "Defense Evasion"
176reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/"