Suspicious Renaming of ESXI Files

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Identifies instances where VMware-related files, such as those with extensions like ".vmdk", ".vmx", ".vmxf", ".vmsd", ".vmsn", ".vswp", ".vmss", ".nvram", and ".vmem", are renamed on a Linux system. The rule monitors for the "rename" event action associated with these file types, which could indicate malicious activity.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

  • logs-endpoint.events.*

Severity: medium

Risk score: 47

Runs every: 5m

Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References:

Tags:

  • Domain: Endpoint
  • OS: Linux
  • Use Case: Threat Detection
  • Tactic: Defense Evasion
  • Data Source: Elastic Defend

Version: 5

Rule authors:

  • Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Rule query

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file where host.os.type == "linux" and event.action == "rename" and
file.Ext.original.name : ("*.vmdk", "*.vmx", "*.vmxf", "*.vmsd", "*.vmsn", "*.vswp", "*.vmss", "*.nvram", "*.vmem")
and not file.name : ("*.vmdk", "*.vmx", "*.vmxf", "*.vmsd", "*.vmsn", "*.vswp", "*.vmss", "*.nvram", "*.vmem")

Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM