MpiExec Lolbin

Hunt Hypothesis

Detects a certain command line flag combination used by mpiexec.exe LOLBIN from HPC pack that can be used to execute any other binary

Detection Rule

Sigma (Original)

title: MpiExec Lolbin
id: 729ce0ea-5d8f-4769-9762-e35de441586d
status: test
description: Detects a certain command line flag combination used by mpiexec.exe LOLBIN from HPC pack that can be used to execute any other binary
references:
    - https://twitter.com/mrd0x/status/1465058133303246867
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/high-performance-computing/mpiexec?view=hpc19-ps
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-01-11
modified: 2024-11-23
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1218
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_binary:
        - Image|endswith: '\mpiexec.exe'
        - Hashes|contains: 'IMPHASH=d8b52ef6aaa3a81501bdfff9dbb96217'
    selection_flags:
        CommandLine|contains:
            - ' /n 1 '
            - ' -n 1 '
    condition: all of selection*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: high

KQL (Azure Sentinel)

imProcessCreate
| where (TargetProcessName endswith "\\mpiexec.exe" or TargetProcessIMPHASH startswith "d8b52ef6aaa3a81501bdfff9dbb96217") and (TargetProcessCommandLine contains " /n 1 " or TargetProcessCommandLine contains " -n 1 ")

Required Data Sources

False Positive Guidance

• Unknown

MITRE ATT&CK Context

• Tactic: Execution
• Technique: T1218 — T1218

References

• https://twitter.com/mrd0x/status/1465058133303246867
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/high-performance-computing/mpiexec?view=hpc19-ps
• SigmaHQ Rule