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Azure WireServer Unusual Process Connection

Identifies shells, LOLBins, GTFOBins, and scripting runtimes connecting to the Azure WireServer / HostGAPlugin address 168.63.129.16 on ports 80 or 32526. The guest agent uses this fabric endpoint for GoalState,…

Description

Identifies shells, LOLBins, GTFOBins, and scripting runtimes connecting to the Azure WireServer / HostGAPlugin address 168.63.129.16 on ports 80 or 32526. The guest agent uses this fabric endpoint for GoalState, certificates, and vmSettings. Adversaries with code execution on an Azure VM (including via Run Command) use curl, PowerShell, openssl, bun, or similar tools to enumerate versions, pull transport certificates, and read HostGAPlugin /vmSettings. Azure guest-agent binaries and system python used by waagent are excluded. Descendants of the guest agent are not excluded: Run Command payloads execute in that tree.

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
ContainersESXiIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSNetwork 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

  • Break-glass troubleshooting by administrators using curl against 168.63.129.16. Confirm the change window and exclude the admin host or user if the activity is authorized.
  • Custom inventory or health scripts that call WireServer with curl or PowerShell. Validate the command line and exclude the specific signed binary or scheduled task after review.

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