Back to results

Impacket Lateral Movement Commandline Parameters

The following analytic identifies the use of suspicious command-line parameters associated with Impacket tools, such as `wmiexec.py`, `smbexec.py`, `dcomexec.py`, and `atexec.py`, which are used for lateral movement…

Description

The following analytic identifies the use of suspicious command-line parameters associated with Impacket tools, such as `wmiexec.py`, `smbexec.py`, `dcomexec.py`, and `atexec.py`, which are used for lateral movement and remote code execution. It detects these activities by analyzing process execution logs from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on specific command-line patterns. This activity is significant because Impacket tools are commonly used by adversaries and Red Teams to move laterally within a network. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute commands remotely, potentially leading to further compromise and data exfiltration.

Detection logic

Detection requirements

Platform
Windows

The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.

Known benign triggers

  • Although uncommon, Administrators may leverage Impackets tools to start a process on remote systems for system administration or automation use cases.

Detections can measure how the public catalogue is used — which detections people look for, and which pages bring them here. It sets a cookie that recognises this browser for 180 days. It is never linked to an account and never follows you to other sites. Privacy notice