Techniques
Sample rules
Excel Spawning Windows Script Host
- source: splunk
- technicques:
- T1003.002
- T1003
Description
The following detection identifies Microsoft Excel spawning Windows Script Host - cscript.exe or wscript.exe. Typically, this is not common behavior and not default with Excel.exe. Excel.exe will generally be found in the following path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 (version will vary). cscript.exe or wscript.exe default location is c:\windows\system32\ or c:windows\syswow64. cscript.exeorwscript.exe` spawning from Excel.exe is common for a spearphishing attachment and is actively used. Albeit, the command-line executed will most likely be obfuscated and captured via another detection. During triage, review parallel processes and identify any files that may have been written. Review the reputation of the remote destination and block accordingly.
Detection logic
| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count values(Processes.process) min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.parent_process_name="excel.exe" Processes.process_name IN ("cscript.exe", "wscript.exe") by Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.user Processes.dest
| `drop_dm_object_name("Processes")`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
|`security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `excel_spawning_windows_script_host_filter`