Threaticon
Toggle sidebar

You're viewing a limited, public preview. Log in for full access.

Log in User Guide
Log in Get started
Detection Strategies DET0080 — Exploit Public-Facing Application – multi-signal correlation (request → error → post-exploit process/egress)
DET0080

Exploit Public-Facing Application – multi-signal correlation (request → error → post-exploit process/egress)

7 analytic(s) · 1 technique(s) detected

Analytics

7
AN0219 Analytic 0219
Windows

Adversary sends crafted HTTP/S (or other service) input to an Internet-facing app (IIS/ASP.NET, API, device portal). Chain: (1) abnormal request patterns to public endpoint → (2) elevated 4xx/5xx or unusual methods/paths → (3) server process (w3wp.exe/other service) spawns shell/LOLbins or loads non-standard modules → (4) optional outbound callback from the host/container.

ApplicationLog:IIS IIS W3C logs in C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\W3SVC* (spikes in 5xx, RCE/SQLi/path traversal/JNDI patterns) WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1 WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=7 WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=3, 22
[PublicVIPs] List of public IPs/hostnames that front apps; used to scope web log and Zeek/proxy data.
[SuspiciousPatterns] Regex set for exploit-like inputs (../, union select, cmd=, ${jndi:, rO0AB (Java serialization), %00, ${env:}, ${${::-j}ndi}).
[ErrorRateThreshold] Spike threshold for HTTP status 5xx/4xx per client or URI (e.g., >5 in 5m).
[TimeWindow] Correlation horizon between request, error, process spawn, and egress (e.g., 15 minutes).
[AllowedChildList] Known child processes of app pools (e.g., msbuild.exe in CI) to reduce false positives.
AN0220 Analytic 0220
Linux

Adversary exploits Apache/Nginx/app servers. Chain: (1) suspicious requests in access logs → (2) spike of 5xx or WAF blocks → (3) web server or interpreter (apache2/nginx/php-fpm/node/python) spawns /bin/sh, curl, wget, socat, or writes webshell → (4) outbound callback.

ApplicationLog:WebServer /var/log/httpd/access_log, /var/log/apache2/access.log, /var/log/nginx/access.log with exploit indicators and burst errors auditd:SYSCALL execve NSM:Flow HTTP payloads with SQLi/LFI/JNDI/deserialization indicators
[WebProcList] server/interpreter names to watch (apache2, httpd, nginx, php-fpm, uwsgi, gunicorn, node).
[ChildToolList] post-exploitation binaries (sh, bash, curl, wget, python, perl, socat, nc).
[BurstThreshold] Rate of errors/requests per src_ip/uri to flag reconnaissance/exploit spray.
[TimeWindow] Exec/network correlation window.
AN0221 Analytic 0221
macOS

Adversary targets macOS-hosted public services (e.g., nginx, node). Chain: suspicious inbound request → service crash/5xx → service spawns shell or writes file → new outbound connection.

macos:unifiedlog App/web server logs ingested via unified logging or filebeat (nginx/apache/node). macos:unifiedlog exec events where web process starts a shell/tooling NSM:Flow outbound egress from web host after suspicious request
[ServiceList] Names/paths of public daemons on macOS (httpd, nginx, node, java).
[TimeWindow] Correlation window for request → exec → egress.
AN0222 Analytic 0222
Containers

Adversary exploits containerized app via ingress or service. Chain: (1) suspicious request in ingress/app logs → (2) container process spawns a shell/exec/sidecar (kubectl exec/docker exec) → (3) egress to Internet or metadata service (169.254.169.254).

ApplicationLog:Ingress Kubernetes NGINX/Envoy ingress controller logs with anomalous payloads and 5xx spikes docker:events Docker/Kubernetes audit of exec/attach (kubectl exec) or unexpected child processes inside container NSM:Flow Requests towards cloud metadata or command & control from pod IPs
[IngressNamespaces] Namespaces that are Internet-facing.
[MetadataEndpoints] Cloud metadata IPs/hostnames for exfil of credentials.
[TimeWindow] Join period between ingress request and pod exec/egress.
AN0223 Analytic 0223
IaaS

Adversary targets cloud-hosted public endpoints. Chain: (1) ALB/ELB/Cloud LB logs show exploit-like inputs or error spikes → (2) workload spawns shell or reaches metadata API → (3) egress to new external hosts.

ALB:HTTPLogs AWS ALB/ELB/GCP/Azure Application Gateway HTTP logs with unusual methods, long URIs, serialized payloads, 4xx/5xx bursts AWS:VPCFlowLogs VPC/NSG flow logs for pod/instance egress to Internet or metadata
[LBProjects] Cloud accounts/subscriptions/regions to include.
[ErrorBurst] 5xx/4xx per client threshold.
AN0224 Analytic 0224
ESXi

Adversary exploits exposed OpenSLP on ESXi or vCenter public endpoints. Chain: inbound request pattern to mgmt service → hostd/vpxd error/crash/restart → unexpected process behavior or datastore access → outbound callback.

esxi:hostd /var/log/hostd.log anomalies (faults, crashes, restarts) around inbound connections NSM:Flow Connections to TCP 427 (SLP) or vCenter web services from untrusted sources
[MgmtCIDR] Only trusted admin networks should reach ESXi/vCenter.
[TimeWindow] Join errors and inbound flows.
AN0225 Analytic 0225
Network Devices

Adversary exploits public admin services on routers/firewalls/switches. Chain: anomalous HTTP/SNMP/SmartInstall inputs → device syslog errors/restarts → config changes/CLI spawn → egress to attacker C2.

networkdevice:controlplane Syslog from edge devices with HTTP 500s on mgmt portal, SmartInstall events, unexpected CLI commands NSM:Flow NetFlow/sFlow for odd egress to Internet from mgmt plane
[MgmtPorts] List of admin services to watch (8443, 443, 161/udp, 4786, 22).
[TrustedAdmins] Admin source ranges to allow.

Detected Techniques

1

Details

MITRE ID
DET0080
STIX ID
x-mitre-detection-strategy--dd8477c8-2aad-4db3-b810-fe0d2f605fa8
Analytics
7
Techniques Detected
1
By Tactic
Initial Access
1
Leaving Threaticon

This link opens an external site that isn't part of the platform.