Abnormal LSASS Child and Parent Process Relationships

SIGMA detection rule by Micah Babinski · GPL-3.0

Detects potential lsass.exe abuse based on unusual and suspicious parent-child relationships. Inspired by the 2022 Red Canary Threat Detection report.

title: Abnormal LSASS Child and Parent Process Relationships
id: 67ba1ddd-4510-42d5-aa78-83bed66bd684
status: experimental
description: Detects potential lsass.exe abuse based on unusual and suspicious parent-child
    relationships. Inspired by the 2022 Red Canary Threat Detection report.
references:
    - https://redcanary.com/threat-detection-report/techniques/lsass-memory/
author: Micah Babinski
date: 2022/11/03
tags:
    - attack.credential_access
    - attack.t1003.001
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection1:
        Image|endswith:
            - '\cmd.exe'
            - '\powershell.exe'
            - '\regsvr32.exe'
            - '\mstsc.exe'
            - '\dllhost.exe'
        ParentImage|endswith: \lsass.exe'
    selection2:
        Image|endswith: '\lsass.exe'
        ParentImage|endswith:
            - '\explorer.exe'
            - '\cmd.exe'
            - '\lsass.exe'
    condition: selection1 or selection2
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium

[[ currentRule.title && currentRule.title.length > 60 ? currentRule.title.slice(0, 60) + '…' : currentRule.title ]]

c510bc8a-1399-4268-98d2-b5439b36d4f4

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Executable code, not a declarative rule

This submission is arbitrary [[ currentRule.format ? currentRule.format.toUpperCase() : '' ]] code, not a declarative detection rule — review it as you would any script before running it, and note that it cannot be safely aggregated or auto-executed alongside YARA/Sigma/Suricata/CRS rules.

Rejected pattern present

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Format & documentation suggestions

Not a security issue — this rule is valid and was accepted as-is. These are optional fields/conventions its own format recommends, mainly affecting its quality score and how well it documents itself for other reviewers.

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[[ currentRule.title && currentRule.title.length > 60 ? currentRule.title.slice(0, 60) + '…' : currentRule.title ]]

[[ currentRule.title ]]

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