Elastic Security Detection Rules

Windows Firewall Disabled via PowerShell

Last updated 10 days ago on 2025-02-21
Created 3 years ago on 2021-10-15

About

Identifies when the Windows Firewall is disabled using PowerShell cmdlets, which can help attackers evade network constraints, like internet and network lateral communication restrictions.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Defense EvasionTactic: ExecutionData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: Windows Security Event LogsData Source: Microsoft Defender for EndpointData Source: SysmonData Source: SentinelOneData Source: CrowdstrikeLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Defense Evasion (TA0005)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Impair Defenses (T1562)(opens in a new tab or window)

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

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

False Positive Examples
Windows Firewall can be disabled by a system administrator. Verify whether the user identity, user agent, and/or hostname should be making changes in your environment. Windows Profile being disabled by unfamiliar users should be investigated. If known behavior is causing false positives, it can be exempted from the rule.
License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
endgame-*logs-crowdstrike.fdr*logs-endpoint.events.process-*logs-m365_defender.event-*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*logs-system.security*logs-windows.forwarded*logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*winlogbeat-*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

windows(opens in a new tab or window)

system(opens in a new tab or window)

m365_defender(opens in a new tab or window)

sentinel_one_cloud_funnel(opens in a new tab or window)

crowdstrike(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
process where host.os.type == "windows" and event.type == "start" and
  (
    process.name : ("powershell.exe", "pwsh.exe", "powershell_ise.exe") or
    ?process.pe.original_file_name in ("powershell.exe", "pwsh.dll", "powershell_ise.exe")
  ) and
  process.args : "*Set-NetFirewallProfile*" and
  process.args : "*-Enabled*" and process.args : "*False*" and
  process.args : ("*-All*", "*Public*", "*Domain*", "*Private*")

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Windows Firewall Disabled via PowerShell 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(opens in a new tab or window).