Potential System Network Configuration Discovery Activity
SPLUNK detection rule by Bhavin Patel, Splunk · Apache-2.0
The following analytic identifies the rapid execution of processes used for system network configuration discovery on an endpoint. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process GUIDs, names, parent processes, and command-line executions. This activity can be significant as it may indicate an attacker attempting to map the network, which is a common precursor to lateral movement or further exploitation. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to gain insights into the network topology, identify critical systems, and plan subsequent attacks, potentially leading to data exfiltration or system compromise.
name: Potential System Network Configuration Discovery Activity
id: 3f0b95e3-3195-46ac-bea3-84fb59e7fac5
version: 9
creation_date: '2020-04-29'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Bhavin Patel, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic identifies the rapid execution of processes used for system network configuration discovery on an endpoint. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process GUIDs, names, parent processes, and command-line executions. This activity can be significant as it may indicate an attacker attempting to map the network, which is a common precursor to lateral movement or further exploitation. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to gain insights into the network topology, identify critical systems, and plan subsequent attacks, potentially leading to data exfiltration or system compromise.
data_source:
- Sysmon EventID 1
- Windows Event Log Security 4688
- CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search: |
| tstats `security_content_summariesonly`
count values(Processes.process) as process
values(Processes.parent_process) as parent_process
min(_time) as firstTime
max(_time) as lastTime
from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where
NOT Processes.user IN ("","unknown")
by Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name
Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid
Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path
Processes.process Processes.process_exec Processes.process_guid Processes.process_hash
Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level Processes.process_name Processes.process_path
Processes.user Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product _time
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
| search process_name IN (
"arp.exe",
"dsquery.exe",
"hostname.exe",
"ipconfig.exe",
"nbstat.exe",
"net.exe",
"net1.exe",
"nltest.exe",
"netsh.exe",
"nslookup.exe",
"ping.exe",
"quser.exe",
"qwinsta.exe",
"telnet.exe",
"tracert.exe",
)
| transaction dest connected=false maxpause=5m
| where eventcount>=5
| `potential_system_network_configuration_discovery_activity_filter`
how_to_implement: The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the `Processes` node of the `Endpoint` data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
known_false_positives: It is uncommon for normal users to execute a series of commands used for network discovery. System administrators often use scripts to execute these commands. These can generate false positives.
references: []
drilldown_searches:
- name: View the detection results for - "$user$" and "$dest$"
search: '%original_detection_search% | search user = "$user$" dest = "$dest$"'
earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
latest_offset: $info_max_time$
- name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$" and "$dest$"
search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$", "$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
earliest_offset: 7d
latest_offset: "0"
intermediate_findings:
entities:
- field: user
type: user
score: 20
message: An instance of $parent_process_name$ spawning multiple $process_name$ was identified on endpoint $dest$ by user $user$ typically not a normal behavior of the process.
- field: dest
type: system
score: 20
message: An instance of $parent_process_name$ spawning multiple $process_name$ was identified on endpoint $dest$ by user $user$ typically not a normal behavior of the process.
threat_objects:
- field: parent_process_name
type: parent_process_name
- field: process_name
type: process_name
analytic_story:
- Unusual Processes
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
- T1016
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
attack_data:
- data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1016/discovery_commands/windows-sysmon.log
source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
test_type: unit
CIRCL