AWS SSM Session Manager Child Process Execution

Last updated a month ago on 2026-04-03
Created a month ago on 2026-04-03

About

Identifies process start events where the parent process is the AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Session Manager worker. Session Manager provides interactive shell access to EC2 instances and hybrid nodes without bastion hosts or open inbound ports. Adversaries abuse it for remote execution and lateral movement using legitimate AWS credentials and IAM permissions. This rule surfaces endpoint execution occurring under that worker for visibility and hunting. Expect noise from authorized administrative sessions.
Tags
Domain: EndpointDomain: CloudOS: LinuxOS: WindowsOS: macOSUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: ExecutionData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: Auditd ManagerData Source: CrowdstrikeData Source: SentinelOneLanguage: kuery
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

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

False Positive Examples
Legitimate operators using AWS Systems Manager Session Manager to administer instances will spawn child processes under the session worker. Tune with host, user, or command-line exclusions for known automation and break-glass workflows. The SSM agent may invoke short-lived utilities (for example identity or environment probes) during session setup. Additional exclusions may be required in your environment.
License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Query (Kibana Query Language)
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.process*auditbeat-*logs-auditd_manager.auditd-*logs-crowdstrike.fdr*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*
Related Integrations

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

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

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

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

Query
text code block:
event.category: "process" and event.action : ("exec" or "exec_event" or "start" or "ProcessRollup2" or "executed" or "process_started") and ( process.parent.name:("ssm-session-worker.exe" or "ssm-session-worker" or "ssm-document-worker.exe" or "ssm-document-worker") or (process.name : "powershell.exe" and process.args : *awsrunPowerShellScript*) or (process.name : ("dash" or "sh" or "bash") and process.args : *awsrunShellScript*) or (process.parent.name : "powershell.exe" and process.parent.args : *awsrunPowerShellScript*) or (process.parent.name : ("dash" or "sh" or "bash") and process.parent.args : *awsrunShellScript*) ) and process.command_line:* and not (process.name : "powershell.exe" and process.args :("$str.Substring($str.length" or *Convert-GuidToCompressedGuid* or get-wmiobject* or $wmi_proc* or *win32_quickfixengineering*)) and not process.executable : ("/usr/bin/lscpu" or "/usr/bin/snap" or "/usr/bin/rpm" or "/usr/bin/dpkg-query" or /snap/snapd/*/usr/bin/snap or "/usr/bin/id" or "C:\\Program Files\\Amazon\\SSM\\Plugins\\SessionManagerShell\\winpty-agent.exe")

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect AWS SSM Session Manager Child Process Execution 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).