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detecting-lateral-movement-with-splunk

Detect adversary lateral movement across networks using Splunk SPL queries against Windows authentication logs, SMB traffic, and remote service (WMI/PsExec/RDP) abuse. Use when hunting for MITRE ATT&CK TA0008 lateral movement activity or investigating suspected pivoting between hosts during an incident, with Splunk as the SIEM.

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detecting-lateral-movement-with-splunk

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Use detecting-lateral-movement-with-splunk to hunt [time range and in-scope hosts or accounts] for RDP, SMB, WinRM, WMI, DCOM, and PsExec lateral movement in Splunk, correlate suspicious authentication with process activity, and produce a prioritized hunt report using the documented output format.

Required inputs

  • [time range and in-scope hosts or accounts]

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SKILL.md

name: detecting-lateral-movement-with-splunkdescription: Detect adversary lateral movement across networks using Splunk SPL queries  against Windows authentication logs, SMB traffic, and remote service (WMI/PsExec/RDP)  abuse. Use when hunting for MITRE ATT&CK TA0008 lateral movement activity or investigating  suspected pivoting between hosts during an incident, with Splunk as the SIEM.domain: cybersecuritysubdomain: threat-huntingtags: - threat-hunting- mitre-attack- lateral-movement- splunk- siem- proactive-detection- ta0008version: '1.0'author: mahipallicense: Apache-2.0d3fend_techniques: - Application Protocol Command Analysis- Network Isolation- Network Traffic Analysis- Client-server Payload Profiling- Network Traffic Community Deviationnist_csf: - DE.CM-01- DE.AE-02- DE.AE-07- ID.RA-05mitre_attack: - T1046- T1057- T1082- T1083- T1021

Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk

When to Use

  • When hunting for adversary movement between compromised systems
  • After detecting credential theft to trace subsequent lateral activity
  • When investigating unusual authentication patterns across the network
  • During incident response to scope the breadth of compromise
  • When proactively hunting for TA0008 (Lateral Movement) techniques

Prerequisites

  • Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud with Windows event data ingested
  • Windows Security Event Logs forwarded (4624, 4625, 4648, 4672, 4768, 4769)
  • Sysmon deployed for process creation and network connection data
  • Network flow data or firewall logs for SMB/RDP/WinRM correlation
  • Active Directory user and group membership reference data

Workflow

  1. Define Lateral Movement Scope: Identify which lateral movement techniques to hunt (RDP, SMB/Admin Shares, WinRM, PsExec, WMI, DCOM, SSH).
  2. Query Authentication Events: Use SPL to search for Type 3 (Network) and Type 10 (RemoteInteractive) logons across the environment.
  3. Build Authentication Graphs: Map source-to-destination authentication relationships to identify unusual connection patterns.
  4. Detect First-Time Relationships: Identify new source-destination pairs that have not been seen in the historical baseline.
  5. Correlate with Process Activity: Link authentication events to subsequent process creation on destination hosts.
  6. Identify Anomalous Patterns: Flag lateral movement to sensitive servers, unusual hours, service account misuse, or rapid multi-host access.
  7. Report and Contain: Document lateral movement path, affected systems, and coordinate containment response.

Key Concepts

ConceptDescription
T1021Remote Services (parent technique)
T1021.001Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
T1021.002SMB/Windows Admin Shares
T1021.003Distributed COM (DCOM)
T1021.004SSH
T1021.006Windows Remote Management (WinRM)
T1570Lateral Tool Transfer
T1047Windows Management Instrumentation
T1569.002Service Execution (PsExec)
Logon Type 3Network logon (SMB, WinRM, mapped drives)
Logon Type 10Remote Interactive (RDP)
Event ID 4624Successful logon
Event ID 4648Explicit credential logon (runas, PsExec)

Tools & Systems

ToolPurpose
Splunk EnterpriseSIEM for log aggregation and SPL queries
Splunk Enterprise SecurityThreat detection and notable events
Windows Event ForwardingCentralize Windows logs
SysmonDetailed process and network telemetry
BloodHoundAD attack path analysis
PingCastleAD security assessment

Common Scenarios

  1. PsExec Lateral Movement: Adversary uses PsExec to execute commands on remote systems via SMB, generating Type 3 logon with ADMIN$ share access.
  2. RDP Pivoting: Attacker RDPs to internal systems using stolen credentials, creating Type 10 logon events.
  3. WMI Remote Execution: Adversary uses WMIC process call create to spawn processes on remote hosts.
  4. WinRM PowerShell Remoting: Attacker uses Enter-PSSession or Invoke-Command to execute code on remote systems.
  5. Pass-the-Hash via SMB: Compromised NTLM hashes used to authenticate to remote systems without knowing the plaintext password.

Output Format

Hunt ID: TH-LATMOV-[DATE]-[SEQ]
Movement Type: [RDP/SMB/WinRM/WMI/DCOM/PsExec]
Source Host: [Hostname/IP]
Destination Host: [Hostname/IP]
Account Used: [Username]
Logon Type: [3/10/other]
First Seen: [Timestamp]
Event Count: [Number of events]
Risk Level: [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
Lateral Movement Path: [A -> B -> C -> D]