Windows Net System Service Discovery

SPLUNK detection rule by Teoderick Contreras, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic detects the enumeration of Windows services using the net start command, which is a built-in utility that lists all running services on a system. Adversaries, system administrators, or automated tools may use this command to gain situational awareness of what services are active, identify potential security software, or discover opportunities for privilege escalation and lateral movement. The execution of net start is often associated with reconnaissance activity during the early stages of an intrusion, as attackers attempt to map out the system’s defense mechanisms and operational services. By monitoring process execution for instances of cmd.exe /c net start or similar command-line usage, defenders can detect potentially suspicious activity. Correlating this behavior with other reconnaissance commands, such as tasklist or sc query, strengthens detection fidelity. While net start is not inherently malicious, unusual or repeated use in non-administrative contexts should be flagged for further investigation.

name: Windows Net System Service Discovery
id: dd7da098-83b8-4c48-b09d-e51aeb621e81
version: 5
creation_date: '2021-05-07'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: Hunting
description: The following analytic detects the enumeration of Windows services using the net start command, which is a built-in utility that lists all running services on a system. Adversaries, system administrators, or automated tools may use this command to gain situational awareness of what services are active, identify potential security software, or discover opportunities for privilege escalation and lateral movement. The execution of net start is often associated with reconnaissance activity during the early stages of an intrusion, as attackers attempt to map out the system’s defense mechanisms and operational services. By monitoring process execution for instances of cmd.exe /c net start or similar command-line usage, defenders can detect potentially suspicious activity. Correlating this behavior with other reconnaissance commands, such as tasklist or sc query, strengthens detection fidelity. While net start is not inherently malicious, unusual or repeated use in non-administrative contexts should be flagged for further investigation.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 1
    - Windows Event Log Security 4688
    - CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search: |-
    | tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes
      WHERE `process_net`
        AND
        Processes.process="* start*"
      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
    | `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
    | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
    | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
    | `windows_net_system_service_discovery_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: Administrators or power users may use this command for troubleshooting.
references:
    - https://cert.gov.ua/article/6284730
analytic_story:
    - LAMEHUG
    - Gh0st RAT
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1007
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/malware/lamehug/T1007/net_start/net_start.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
      test_type: unit

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466131a5-59f8-4c7d-90bf-e9f159ff9745

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