MSSQL XPCmdshell Suspicious Execution

Detects when the MSSQL "xp_cmdshell" stored procedure is used to execute commands

Sigma rule (View on GitHub)

 1title: MSSQL XPCmdshell Suspicious Execution
 2id: 7f103213-a04e-4d59-8261-213dddf22314
 3status: test
 4description: Detects when the MSSQL "xp_cmdshell" stored procedure is used to execute commands
 5references:
 6    - https://www.netspi.com/blog/technical/network-penetration-testing/sql-server-persistence-part-1-startup-stored-procedures/
 7    - https://thedfirreport.com/2022/07/11/select-xmrig-from-sqlserver/
 8author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
 9date: 2022-07-12
10modified: 2024-06-26
11tags:
12    - attack.execution
13logsource:
14    product: windows
15    service: application
16    definition: 'Requirements: MSSQL audit policy to monitor for "xp_cmdshell" must be enabled in order to receive this event in the application log (Follow this tutorial https://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/103183/is-there-any-way-to-monitor-execution-of-xp-cmdshell-in-sql-server-2012)'
17    # warning: The 'data' field used in the detection section is the container for the event data as a whole. You may have to adapt the rule for your backend accordingly
18detection:
19    selection:
20        Provider_Name|contains: 'MSSQL' # Note: We use contains to account for other third party providers - See https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/issues/4876
21        EventID: 33205
22        Data|contains|all:
23            # You can modify this to include specific commands
24            - 'object_name:xp_cmdshell'
25            - 'statement:EXEC'
26    condition: selection
27falsepositives:
28    - Unknown
29level: high

References

Related rules

to-top