Persistence via Folder Action Script

Detects modification of a Folder Action script. A Folder Action script is executed when the folder to which it is attached has items added or removed, or when its window is opened, closed, moved, or resized. Adversaries may abuse this feature to establish persistence by utilizing a malicious script.

Elastic rule (View on GitHub)

 1[metadata]
 2creation_date = "2020/12/07"
 3integration = ["endpoint"]
 4maturity = "production"
 5updated_date = "2024/05/21"
 6
 7[rule]
 8author = ["Elastic"]
 9description = """
10Detects modification of a Folder Action script. A Folder Action script is executed when the folder to which it is
11attached has items added or removed, or when its window is opened, closed, moved, or resized. Adversaries may abuse this
12feature to establish persistence by utilizing a malicious script.
13"""
14from = "now-9m"
15index = ["logs-endpoint.events.*"]
16language = "eql"
17license = "Elastic License v2"
18name = "Persistence via Folder Action Script"
19references = ["https://posts.specterops.io/folder-actions-for-persistence-on-macos-8923f222343d"]
20risk_score = 47
21rule_id = "c292fa52-4115-408a-b897-e14f684b3cb7"
22setup = """## Setup
23
24This rule requires data coming in from Elastic Defend.
25
26### Elastic Defend Integration Setup
27Elastic Defend is integrated into the Elastic Agent using Fleet. Upon configuration, the integration allows the Elastic Agent to monitor events on your host and send data to the Elastic Security app.
28
29#### Prerequisite Requirements:
30- Fleet is required for Elastic Defend.
31- To configure Fleet Server refer to the [documentation](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/fleet/current/fleet-server.html).
32
33#### The following steps should be executed in order to add the Elastic Defend integration on a macOS System:
34- Go to the Kibana home page and click "Add integrations".
35- In the query bar, search for "Elastic Defend" and select the integration to see more details about it.
36- Click "Add Elastic Defend".
37- Configure the integration name and optionally add a description.
38- Select the type of environment you want to protect, for MacOS it is recommended to select "Traditional Endpoints".
39- Select a configuration preset. Each preset comes with different default settings for Elastic Agent, you can further customize these later by configuring the Elastic Defend integration policy. [Helper guide](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/configure-endpoint-integration-policy.html).
40- We suggest selecting "Complete EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)" as a configuration setting, that provides "All events; all preventions"
41- Enter a name for the agent policy in "New agent policy name". If other agent policies already exist, you can click the "Existing hosts" tab and select an existing policy instead.
42For more details on Elastic Agent configuration settings, refer to the [helper guide](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/fleet/current/agent-policy.html).
43- Click "Save and Continue".
44- To complete the integration, select "Add Elastic Agent to your hosts" and continue to the next section to install the Elastic Agent on your hosts.
45For more details on Elastic Defend refer to the [helper guide](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/install-endpoint.html).
46"""
47severity = "medium"
48tags = [
49    "Domain: Endpoint",
50    "OS: macOS",
51    "Use Case: Threat Detection",
52    "Tactic: Execution",
53    "Tactic: Persistence",
54    "Data Source: Elastic Defend",
55]
56timestamp_override = "event.ingested"
57type = "eql"
58
59query = '''
60process where host.os.type == "macos" and event.type : "start" and process.name in ("osascript", "python", "tcl", "node", "perl", "ruby", "php", "bash", "csh", "zsh", "sh") and
61  process.parent.name == "com.apple.foundation.UserScriptService" and not process.args : ("/Users/*/Library/Application Support/iTerm2/Scripts/AutoLaunch/*.scpt", "/Users/*/Library/Application Scripts/com.microsoft.*/FoxitUtils.applescript")
62'''
63
64
65[[rule.threat]]
66framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
67[[rule.threat.technique]]
68id = "T1037"
69name = "Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts"
70reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1037/"
71
72
73[rule.threat.tactic]
74id = "TA0003"
75name = "Persistence"
76reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0003/"
77[[rule.threat]]
78framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
79[[rule.threat.technique]]
80id = "T1059"
81name = "Command and Scripting Interpreter"
82reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/"
83
84
85[rule.threat.tactic]
86id = "TA0002"
87name = "Execution"
88reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/"

References

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