AWS SSM SendCommand with Run Shell Command Parameters

AWS SSM `SendCommand` with Run Shell Command Parameters

Identifies the use of the AWS Systems Manager (SSM) SendCommand API with the either AWS-RunShellScript or AWS-RunPowerShellScript parameters. The SendCommand API call allows users to execute commands on EC2 instances using the SSM service. Adversaries may use this technique to execute commands on EC2 instances without the need for SSH or RDP access. This behavior may indicate an adversary attempting to execute commands on an EC2 instance for malicious purposes. This is a [New Terms](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/rules-ui-create.html#create-new-terms-rule) rule that only flags when this behavior is observed for the first time on a host in the last 7 days.

Rule type: new_terms

Rule indices:

logs-endpoint.events.*
endgame-*
auditbeat-*
logs-auditd_manager.auditd-*

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
Domain: Cloud
OS: Linux
OS: macOS
OS: Windows
Use Case: Threat Detection
Tactic: Execution
Data Source: Elastic Defend
Data Source: Elastic Endgame
Data Source: Auditd Manager

Version: 2

Rule authors:

Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Setup

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Setup

This rule requires data coming in from Elastic Defend.

Elastic Defend Integration Setup

Elastic Defend is integrated into the Elastic Agent using Fleet. Upon configuration, the integration allows the Elastic Agent to monitor events on your host and send data to the Elastic Security app.

Prerequisite Requirements:

Fleet is required for Elastic Defend.
To configure Fleet Server refer to the documentation.

The following steps should be executed in order to add the Elastic Defend integration on a Linux System:

Go to the Kibana home page and click "Add integrations".
In the query bar, search for "Elastic Defend" and select the integration to see more details about it.
Click "Add Elastic Defend".
Configure the integration name and optionally add a description.
Select the type of environment you want to protect, either "Traditional Endpoints" or "Cloud Workloads".
Select a configuration preset. Each preset comes with different default settings for Elastic Agent, you can further customize these later by configuring the Elastic Defend integration policy. Helper guide.
We suggest selecting "Complete EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)" as a configuration setting, that provides "All events; all preventions"
Enter a name for the agent policy in "New agent policy name". If other agent policies already exist, you can click the "Existing hosts" tab and select an existing policy instead. For more details on Elastic Agent configuration settings, refer to the helper guide.
Click "Save and Continue".
To complete the integration, select "Add Elastic Agent to your hosts" and continue to the next section to install the Elastic Agent on your hosts. For more details on Elastic Defend refer to the helper guide.

Rule query

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event.category: "process" and event.type: "start" and process.name: "aws"
and (
    host.os.type: ("windows" or "macos")
    or (
        host.os.type: "linux"
        and event.action: ("exec" or "exec_event" or "executed" or "process_started")
    )
)
and process.args: (
    "send-command" and "--parameters" and commands=*
    and ("AWS-RunShellScript" or "AWS-RunPowerShellScript")
)

Framework: MITRE ATT&CK^TM

Tactic:
- Name: Execution
- ID: TA0002
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/
Technique:
- Name: Cloud Administration Command
- ID: T1651
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1651/

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