Elastic Security Detection Rules

Suspicious Command Prompt Network Connection

Last updated 9 days ago on 2026-02-23
Created 6 years ago on 2020-02-18

About

Identifies a network connection by the command prompt (cmd.exe) when it is executed with specific arguments, such as a script or a URL, or when it is spawned by Microsoft Office applications. Adversaries often abuse cmd.exe to download malicious payloads or establish command and control channels from a remote source.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: ExecutionData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: SysmonData Source: SentinelOneLanguage: eql
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Execution (TA0002)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Command and Control (TA0011)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Ingress Tool Transfer (T1105)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
winlogbeat-*logs-endpoint.events.process-*logs-endpoint.events.network-*logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*
Related Integrations

endpoint(external, opens in a new tab or window)

windows(external, opens in a new tab or window)

sentinel_one_cloud_funnel(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
sequence by process.entity_id with maxspan=15s
  [process where host.os.type == "windows" and event.type == "start" and
    process.name : "cmd.exe" and process.args : ("/c", "/k") and
    (
      process.args : ("*.bat", "*.cmd") or
      process.command_line : ("*http://*", "*https://*", "*ftp://*") or
      process.parent.name : ("excel.exe", "msaccess.exe", "mspub.exe", "powerpnt.exe", "winword.exe", "outlook.exe")
    )
  ]
  [network where host.os.type == "windows" and process.name : "cmd.exe" and
     not cidrmatch(destination.ip, "10.0.0.0/8", "127.0.0.0/8", "169.254.0.0/16", "172.16.0.0/12", "192.0.0.0/24",
                                  "192.0.0.0/29", "192.0.0.8/32", "192.0.0.9/32", "192.0.0.10/32", "192.0.0.170/32",
                                  "192.0.0.171/32", "192.0.2.0/24", "192.31.196.0/24", "192.52.193.0/24",
                                  "192.168.0.0/16", "192.88.99.0/24", "224.0.0.0/4", "100.64.0.0/10", "192.175.48.0/24",
                                  "198.18.0.0/15", "198.51.100.0/24", "203.0.113.0/24", "240.0.0.0/4", "::1",
                                  "FE80::/10", "FF00::/8")]

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Suspicious Command Prompt Network Connection in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(external, opens in a new tab or window).