AWS Suspicious User Agent Fingerprint

ELASTIC detection rule by Elastic · Elastic License v2

Identifies successful AWS API calls where the CloudTrail user agent indicates offensive tooling or automated credential verification. This includes the AWS CLI or Boto3 reporting a Kali Linux distribution fingerprint (`distrib#kali`), and clients that identify as TruffleHog, which is commonly used to validate leaked secrets against live AWS APIs. These patterns are uncommon for routine production workloads and may indicate compromised credentials, unauthorized access, or security tooling operating outside approved scope.

[metadata]
creation_date = "2025/04/11"
integration = ["aws"]
maturity = "production"
updated_date = "2026/08/05"

[rule]
author = ["Elastic"]
description = """
Identifies successful AWS API calls where the CloudTrail user agent indicates offensive tooling or automated credential
verification. This includes the AWS CLI or Boto3 reporting a Kali Linux distribution fingerprint (`distrib#kali`), and
clients that identify as TruffleHog, which is commonly used to validate leaked secrets against live AWS APIs. These
patterns are uncommon for routine production workloads and may indicate compromised credentials, unauthorized access, or
security tooling operating outside approved scope.
"""
false_positives = [
    """
    Authorized penetration tests, red team exercises, or research activity may originate from Kali Linux. Internal
    secret scanning pipelines may run TruffleHog with permission to reach AWS for verification. Validate the IAM
    principal, source network, change records, and whether the activity matches documented security or DevSecOps
    workflows.
    """,
]
from = "now-6m"
index = ["logs-aws.cloudtrail-*"]
language = "eql"
license = "Elastic License v2"
name = "AWS Suspicious User Agent Fingerprint"
note = """## Triage and Analysis

### Investigating AWS Suspicious User Agent Fingerprint

AWS CloudTrail records the user agent string for API requests, which can reveal the OS distribution and client tooling.
Two high-signal patterns this rule covers are:

- **Kali Linux fingerprint** — When the AWS CLI or Boto3 reports `distrib#kali`, the request likely came from a Kali
  environment. Kali is widely used for penetration testing and adversarial tradecraft, so this is worth correlating with
  identity, network context, and sensitivity of API actions.
- **TruffleHog** — TruffleHog identifies itself in the user agent when verifying whether recovered credentials are still
  valid. Observing it against your account may indicate leaked keys are being tested, including through supply-chain or
  secret-scanning abuse by a third party.

This detection focuses on **successful** API activity. Evaluate who performed the action, what was accessed or modified,
and whether the source and tooling align with expectations.

### Possible investigation steps

**Identify the actor**
- Review `aws.cloudtrail.user_identity.arn` and `aws.cloudtrail.user_identity.access_key_id` to determine which IAM
  principal was used.
- Check whether this principal normally uses CLI/SDK clients and whether Kali or TruffleHog is ever expected for their role.

**Review access patterns and actions**
- Examine API calls associated with the matched user agent for high-risk activity such as IAM changes, data access,
  snapshot sharing, logging modification, or persistence-related actions.
- Look for sequences indicating initial access or expansion, such as `GetSessionToken`, `AssumeRole`, or privilege
  escalation attempts.
- Determine whether the activity scope aligns with the principal’s intended permissions and business function.

**Inspect source network and tooling context**
- Review `source.ip`, `source.geo` fields, and ASN to determine whether the request originated from an expected corporate
  network, VPN, CI/CD egress, or known security testing infrastructure.
- Analyze `user_agent.original` to confirm which pattern matched (`distrib#kali` vs `TruffleHog`) and whether usage looks
  interactive, scripted, or scanner-driven.
- Sudden shifts from console-based access to CLI from an offensive distribution, or first-time TruffleHog against the
  account, may indicate credential compromise or unauthorized scanning.

**Correlate with surrounding activity**
- Search for additional CloudTrail events tied to the same access key or session before and after this detection.
- Look for evidence of follow-on actions such as resource creation, configuration changes, or attempts to disable logging
  and monitoring services.
- Assess whether the activity represents a single isolated request or part of a broader behavioral chain.

### False positive analysis

- Internal red team or authorized assessments may produce Kali-based AWS CLI or SDK traffic. Confirm scope, timing, and
  authorization.
- Organizational use of TruffleHog in CI to validate rotated keys or scan artifacts may generate this signal; restrict
  exceptions to known roles, repositories, and egress IPs where possible.

### Response and remediation

- If the activity is unauthorized, immediately revoke or rotate the affected access keys or invalidate the active
  session.
- Review IAM permissions associated with the identity and reduce scope where possible to enforce least privilege.
- Investigate for additional indicators of compromise, including unusual role assumptions, new credential creation, or
  data access from the same identity.
- Notify security operations and incident response teams if the activity aligns with known adversary behaviors or appears
  part of a larger intrusion.
- Consider adding guardrails or conditional access controls (such as source IP restrictions or MFA enforcement) for
  sensitive IAM principals.

### Additional information
- **[AWS IR Playbooks](https://github.com/aws-samples/aws-incident-response-playbooks/blob/c151b0dc091755fffd4d662a8f29e2f6794da52c/playbooks/)**
- **[AWS Customer Playbook Framework](https://github.com/aws-samples/aws-customer-playbook-framework/tree/a8c7b313636b406a375952ac00b2d68e89a991f2/docs)**
- **[AWS Knowledge Center – Security Best Practices](https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/security-best-practices/)**
"""
references = [
    "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awscloudtrail/latest/userguide/cloudtrail-event-reference-user-identity.html",
    "https://www.sygnia.co/blog/sygnia-investigation-bybit-hack/",
    "https://trufflesecurity.com/blog/trufflehog-in-your-logs",
    "https://kudelskisecurity.com/research/investigating-two-variants-of-the-trivy-supply-chain-compromise",
]
risk_score = 73
rule_id = "f80ea920-f6f5-4c8a-9761-84ac97ec0cb2"
severity = "high"
tags = [
    "Domain: Cloud",
    "Platform: AWS",
    "Data Source: AWS CloudTrail",
    "Tactic: Initial Access",
    "Rule Type: Event Correlation (EQL)",
    "Resources: Investigation Guide",
]
timestamp_override = "event.ingested"
type = "eql"

query = '''
any where data_stream.dataset == "aws.cloudtrail"
  and event.outcome == "success"
  and (
    (
      stringContains(user_agent.original, "distrib#kali")
      or stringContains(user_agent.original, "+kali")
      or stringContains(user_agent.original, "kali-amd64")
      or stringContains(user_agent.original, "kali-arm64")
    ) or (
      stringContains(user_agent.original, "TruffleHog")
      or stringContains(user_agent.original, "trufflehog")
    )
  )
'''


[[rule.threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"

[[rule.threat.technique]]
id = "T1078"
name = "Valid Accounts"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/"

[[rule.threat.technique.subtechnique]]
id = "T1078.004"
name = "Cloud Accounts"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/004/"

[rule.threat.tactic]
id = "TA0001"
name = "Initial Access"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0001/"

[[rule.threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"

[[rule.threat.technique]]
id = "T1078"
name = "Valid Accounts"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/"

[[rule.threat.technique.subtechnique]]
id = "T1078.004"
name = "Cloud Accounts"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/004/"

[rule.threat.tactic]
id = "TA0005"
name = "Defense Evasion"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/"
[rule.investigation_fields]
field_names = [
    "@timestamp",
    "user.name",
    "user_agent.original",
    "source.ip",
    "aws.cloudtrail.user_identity.arn",
    "aws.cloudtrail.user_identity.type",
    "aws.cloudtrail.user_identity.access_key_id",
    "aws.cloudtrail.resources.arn",
    "aws.cloudtrail.resources.type",
    "event.action",
    "event.outcome",
    "cloud.account.id",
    "cloud.region",
    "aws.cloudtrail.request_parameters",
    "aws.cloudtrail.response_elements"
]

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a59ad5c3-9ec7-4990-9139-38907acf22d1

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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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