SMTP to the Internet on Port 26/TCP
This rule detects events that may indicate use of SMTP on TCP port 26 from an internal host to an external destination. This port is commonly used by several popular mail transfer agents to deconflict with the…
Description
This rule detects events that may indicate use of SMTP on TCP port 26 from an internal host to an external destination. This port is commonly used by several popular mail transfer agents to deconflict with the default SMTP port 25. This port has also been used by a malware family called BadPatch for command and control of Windows systems. The rule is scoped to outbound traffic (internal source to external destination) to focus on the command and control and exfiltration use cases, rather than benign internal mail relays or unrelated transit traffic observed by the sensor.
Detection logic
Its licence does not clear it for publishing here
Sunturai publishes a detection's own text where the licence it arrived under has been reviewed and permits it, and Elastic License 2.0 has not. The query as its source wrote it, its canonical form and the hash that pins this revision are in the workspace record.
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ESXiIaaSLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuiteSaaSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
Known benign triggers
- Internal hosts that legitimately send mail to external mail transfer agents listening on TCP port 26 may cause false positives. Mail servers or applications with known external SMTP relays can be excluded by source or destination IP address as this is expected behavior.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Next+up+whats+up+with+TCP+port+26/25564/ | Only this detection cites it |
| unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-badpatch/ | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- d7e62693-aab9-4f66-a21a-3d79ecdd603d
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: CorelightData Source: FortinetData Source: Network Packet CaptureData Source: Network TrafficData Source: PAN-OSData Source: pfSenseData Source: ZeekDomain: EndpointDomain: NetworkNoise: HighPerformance: NormalProfile: AggressiveResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: Custom Query (KQL)Tactic: Command and ControlTactic: ExfiltrationUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 4