RDP Nesting
Id | 69a45b05-71f5-45ca-8944-2e038747fb39 |
Rulename | RDP Nesting |
Description | Query detects potential lateral movement within a network by identifying when an RDP connection (EventID 4624, LogonType 10) is made to an initial system, followed by a subsequent RDP connection from that system to another, using the same account within a 60-minute window. To reduce false positives, it excludes scenarios where the same account has made 5 or more connections to the same set of computers in the previous 7 days. This approach focuses on highlighting unusual RDP behaviour that suggests lateral movement, which is often associated with attacker tactics during a network breach. |
Severity | Medium |
Tactics | LateralMovement |
Techniques | T1021 |
Required data connectors | SecurityEvents WindowsForwardedEvents WindowsSecurityEvents |
Kind | Scheduled |
Query frequency | 1d |
Query period | 8d |
Trigger threshold | 0 |
Trigger operator | gt |
Source Uri | https://github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/blob/master/Detections/SecurityEvent/RDP_Nesting.yaml |
Version | 1.2.8 |
Arm template | 69a45b05-71f5-45ca-8944-2e038747fb39.json |
let endtime = 1d;
// Function to resolve hostname to IP address using DNS logs or a lookup table (example syntax)
let rdpConnections =
(union isfuzzy=true
(
SecurityEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and LogonType == 10
// Labeling the first RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend
FirstHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
FirstComputer = toupper(Computer),
FirstRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
),
(
WindowsEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and EventData has ("10")
| extend LogonType = tostring(EventData.LogonType)
| where LogonType == 10 // Labeling the first RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend Account = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), "", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))
| extend IpAddress = tostring(EventData.IpAddress)
| extend
FirstHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
FirstComputer = toupper(Computer),
FirstRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
))
| join kind=inner (
(union isfuzzy=true
(
SecurityEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and LogonType == 10
// Labeling the second RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend
SecondHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
SecondComputer = toupper(Computer),
SecondRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
),
(
WindowsEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and EventData has ("10")
| extend LogonType = toint(EventData.LogonType)
| where LogonType == 10 // Labeling the second RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend Account = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), "", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))
| extend IpAddress = tostring(EventData.IpAddress)
| extend
SecondHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
SecondComputer = toupper(Computer),
SecondRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
))
)
on Account
| distinct
Account,
FirstHop,
FirstComputer,
FirstRemoteIPAddress,
SecondHop,
SecondComputer,
SecondRemoteIPAddress,
AccountType,
Activity,
LogonTypeName,
ProcessName;
// Resolve hostnames to IP addresses device network Ip's
let listOfFirstComputer = rdpConnections | distinct FirstComputer;
let listOfSecondComputer = rdpConnections | distinct SecondComputer;
let resolvedIPs =
DeviceNetworkInfo
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where isnotempty(ConnectedNetworks) and NetworkAdapterStatus == "Up"
| extend ClientIP = tostring(parse_json(IPAddresses[0]).IPAddress)
| where isnotempty(ClientIP)
| where DeviceName in~ (listOfFirstComputer) or DeviceName in~ (listOfSecondComputer)
| summarize arg_max(TimeGenerated, ClientIP) by Computer= DeviceName
| project Computer=toupper(Computer), ResolvedIP = ClientIP;
// Join resolved IPs with the RDP connections
rdpConnections
| join kind=inner (resolvedIPs) on $left.FirstComputer == $right.Computer
| join kind=inner (resolvedIPs) on $left.SecondComputer == $right.Computer
// | where ResolvedIP != ResolvedIP1
| distinct
Account,
FirstHop,
FirstComputer,
FirstComputerIP = ResolvedIP,
FirstRemoteIPAddress,
SecondHop,
SecondComputer,
SecondComputerIP = ResolvedIP1,
SecondRemoteIPAddress,
AccountType,
Activity,
LogonTypeName,
ProcessName
// Ensure the first connection is before the second connection
// Identify only RDP to another computer from within the first RDP connection by only choosing matches where the Computer names do not match
// Ensure the IPAddresses do not match by excluding connections from the same computers with first hop RDP connections to multiple computers
| where FirstComputer != SecondComputer
and FirstRemoteIPAddress != SecondRemoteIPAddress
and SecondHop > FirstHop
// Ensure the second hop occurs within 30 minutes of the first hop
| where SecondHop <= FirstHop + 30m
| where SecondRemoteIPAddress == FirstComputerIP
| summarize FirstHopFirstSeen = min(FirstHop), FirstHopLastSeen = max(FirstHop)
by
Account,
FirstComputer,
FirstComputerIP,
FirstRemoteIPAddress,
SecondHop,
SecondComputer,
SecondComputerIP,
SecondRemoteIPAddress,
AccountType,
Activity,
LogonTypeName,
ProcessName
| extend
AccountName = tostring(split(Account, @"")[1]),
AccountNTDomain = tostring(split(Account, @"")[0])
| extend
HostName1 = tostring(split(FirstComputer, ".")[0]),
DomainIndex = toint(indexof(FirstComputer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain1 = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(FirstComputer, DomainIndex + 1), FirstComputer)
| extend
HostName2 = tostring(split(SecondComputer, ".")[0]),
DomainIndex = toint(indexof(SecondComputer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain2 = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(SecondComputer, DomainIndex + 1), SecondComputer)
| project-away DomainIndex
id: 69a45b05-71f5-45ca-8944-2e038747fb39
triggerOperator: gt
OriginalUri: https://github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/blob/master/Detections/SecurityEvent/RDP_Nesting.yaml
requiredDataConnectors:
- dataTypes:
- SecurityEvent
connectorId: SecurityEvents
- dataTypes:
- SecurityEvent
connectorId: WindowsSecurityEvents
- dataTypes:
- WindowsEvent
connectorId: WindowsForwardedEvents
description: |
'Query detects potential lateral movement within a network by identifying when an RDP connection (EventID 4624, LogonType 10) is made to an initial system, followed by a subsequent RDP connection from that system to another, using the same account within a 60-minute window.
To reduce false positives, it excludes scenarios where the same account has made 5 or more connections to the same set of computers in the previous 7 days. This approach focuses on highlighting unusual RDP behaviour that suggests lateral movement, which is often associated with attacker tactics during a network breach.'
severity: Medium
queryPeriod: 8d
kind: Scheduled
tactics:
- LateralMovement
queryFrequency: 1d
query: |
let endtime = 1d;
// Function to resolve hostname to IP address using DNS logs or a lookup table (example syntax)
let rdpConnections =
(union isfuzzy=true
(
SecurityEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and LogonType == 10
// Labeling the first RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend
FirstHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
FirstComputer = toupper(Computer),
FirstRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
),
(
WindowsEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and EventData has ("10")
| extend LogonType = tostring(EventData.LogonType)
| where LogonType == 10 // Labeling the first RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend Account = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), "", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))
| extend IpAddress = tostring(EventData.IpAddress)
| extend
FirstHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
FirstComputer = toupper(Computer),
FirstRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
))
| join kind=inner (
(union isfuzzy=true
(
SecurityEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and LogonType == 10
// Labeling the second RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend
SecondHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
SecondComputer = toupper(Computer),
SecondRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
),
(
WindowsEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where EventID == 4624 and EventData has ("10")
| extend LogonType = toint(EventData.LogonType)
| where LogonType == 10 // Labeling the second RDP connection time, computer and ip
| extend Account = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), "", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))
| extend IpAddress = tostring(EventData.IpAddress)
| extend
SecondHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),
SecondComputer = toupper(Computer),
SecondRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,
Account = tolower(Account)
))
)
on Account
| distinct
Account,
FirstHop,
FirstComputer,
FirstRemoteIPAddress,
SecondHop,
SecondComputer,
SecondRemoteIPAddress,
AccountType,
Activity,
LogonTypeName,
ProcessName;
// Resolve hostnames to IP addresses device network Ip's
let listOfFirstComputer = rdpConnections | distinct FirstComputer;
let listOfSecondComputer = rdpConnections | distinct SecondComputer;
let resolvedIPs =
DeviceNetworkInfo
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)
| where isnotempty(ConnectedNetworks) and NetworkAdapterStatus == "Up"
| extend ClientIP = tostring(parse_json(IPAddresses[0]).IPAddress)
| where isnotempty(ClientIP)
| where DeviceName in~ (listOfFirstComputer) or DeviceName in~ (listOfSecondComputer)
| summarize arg_max(TimeGenerated, ClientIP) by Computer= DeviceName
| project Computer=toupper(Computer), ResolvedIP = ClientIP;
// Join resolved IPs with the RDP connections
rdpConnections
| join kind=inner (resolvedIPs) on $left.FirstComputer == $right.Computer
| join kind=inner (resolvedIPs) on $left.SecondComputer == $right.Computer
// | where ResolvedIP != ResolvedIP1
| distinct
Account,
FirstHop,
FirstComputer,
FirstComputerIP = ResolvedIP,
FirstRemoteIPAddress,
SecondHop,
SecondComputer,
SecondComputerIP = ResolvedIP1,
SecondRemoteIPAddress,
AccountType,
Activity,
LogonTypeName,
ProcessName
// Ensure the first connection is before the second connection
// Identify only RDP to another computer from within the first RDP connection by only choosing matches where the Computer names do not match
// Ensure the IPAddresses do not match by excluding connections from the same computers with first hop RDP connections to multiple computers
| where FirstComputer != SecondComputer
and FirstRemoteIPAddress != SecondRemoteIPAddress
and SecondHop > FirstHop
// Ensure the second hop occurs within 30 minutes of the first hop
| where SecondHop <= FirstHop + 30m
| where SecondRemoteIPAddress == FirstComputerIP
| summarize FirstHopFirstSeen = min(FirstHop), FirstHopLastSeen = max(FirstHop)
by
Account,
FirstComputer,
FirstComputerIP,
FirstRemoteIPAddress,
SecondHop,
SecondComputer,
SecondComputerIP,
SecondRemoteIPAddress,
AccountType,
Activity,
LogonTypeName,
ProcessName
| extend
AccountName = tostring(split(Account, @"")[1]),
AccountNTDomain = tostring(split(Account, @"")[0])
| extend
HostName1 = tostring(split(FirstComputer, ".")[0]),
DomainIndex = toint(indexof(FirstComputer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain1 = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(FirstComputer, DomainIndex + 1), FirstComputer)
| extend
HostName2 = tostring(split(SecondComputer, ".")[0]),
DomainIndex = toint(indexof(SecondComputer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain2 = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(SecondComputer, DomainIndex + 1), SecondComputer)
| project-away DomainIndex
version: 1.2.8
triggerThreshold: 0
name: RDP Nesting
entityMappings:
- entityType: Account
fieldMappings:
- columnName: Account
identifier: FullName
- columnName: AccountName
identifier: Name
- columnName: AccountNTDomain
identifier: NTDomain
- entityType: Host
fieldMappings:
- columnName: FirstComputer
identifier: FullName
- columnName: HostName1
identifier: HostName
- columnName: HostNameDomain1
identifier: NTDomain
- entityType: Host
fieldMappings:
- columnName: SecondComputer
identifier: FullName
- columnName: HostName2
identifier: HostName
- columnName: HostNameDomain2
identifier: NTDomain
- entityType: IP
fieldMappings:
- columnName: FirstIPAddress
identifier: Address
relevantTechniques:
- T1021
metadata:
support:
tier: Community
categories:
domains:
- Security - Threat Protection
author:
name: Microsoft Security Research
source:
kind: Community
{
"$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
"contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
"parameters": {
"workspace": {
"type": "String"
}
},
"resources": [
{
"apiVersion": "2024-01-01-preview",
"id": "[concat(resourceId('Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/providers', parameters('workspace'), 'Microsoft.SecurityInsights'),'/alertRules/69a45b05-71f5-45ca-8944-2e038747fb39')]",
"kind": "Scheduled",
"name": "[concat(parameters('workspace'),'/Microsoft.SecurityInsights/69a45b05-71f5-45ca-8944-2e038747fb39')]",
"properties": {
"alertRuleTemplateName": "69a45b05-71f5-45ca-8944-2e038747fb39",
"customDetails": null,
"description": "'Query detects potential lateral movement within a network by identifying when an RDP connection (EventID 4624, LogonType 10) is made to an initial system, followed by a subsequent RDP connection from that system to another, using the same account within a 60-minute window.\n To reduce false positives, it excludes scenarios where the same account has made 5 or more connections to the same set of computers in the previous 7 days. This approach focuses on highlighting unusual RDP behaviour that suggests lateral movement, which is often associated with attacker tactics during a network breach.'\n",
"displayName": "RDP Nesting",
"enabled": true,
"entityMappings": [
{
"entityType": "Account",
"fieldMappings": [
{
"columnName": "Account",
"identifier": "FullName"
},
{
"columnName": "AccountName",
"identifier": "Name"
},
{
"columnName": "AccountNTDomain",
"identifier": "NTDomain"
}
]
},
{
"entityType": "Host",
"fieldMappings": [
{
"columnName": "FirstComputer",
"identifier": "FullName"
},
{
"columnName": "HostName1",
"identifier": "HostName"
},
{
"columnName": "HostNameDomain1",
"identifier": "NTDomain"
}
]
},
{
"entityType": "Host",
"fieldMappings": [
{
"columnName": "SecondComputer",
"identifier": "FullName"
},
{
"columnName": "HostName2",
"identifier": "HostName"
},
{
"columnName": "HostNameDomain2",
"identifier": "NTDomain"
}
]
},
{
"entityType": "IP",
"fieldMappings": [
{
"columnName": "FirstIPAddress",
"identifier": "Address"
}
]
}
],
"OriginalUri": "https://github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/blob/master/Detections/SecurityEvent/RDP_Nesting.yaml",
"query": "let endtime = 1d;\n// Function to resolve hostname to IP address using DNS logs or a lookup table (example syntax)\nlet rdpConnections =\n(union isfuzzy=true\n(\nSecurityEvent\n| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)\n| where EventID == 4624 and LogonType == 10\n// Labeling the first RDP connection time, computer and ip\n| extend\nFirstHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),\nFirstComputer = toupper(Computer),\nFirstRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,\nAccount = tolower(Account)\n),\n(\nWindowsEvent\n| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)\n| where EventID == 4624 and EventData has (\"10\")\n| extend LogonType = tostring(EventData.LogonType)\n| where LogonType == 10 // Labeling the first RDP connection time, computer and ip\n| extend Account = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), \"\", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))\n| extend IpAddress = tostring(EventData.IpAddress)\n| extend\nFirstHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),\nFirstComputer = toupper(Computer),\nFirstRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,\nAccount = tolower(Account)\n))\n| join kind=inner (\n(union isfuzzy=true\n(\nSecurityEvent\n| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)\n| where EventID == 4624 and LogonType == 10\n// Labeling the second RDP connection time, computer and ip\n| extend\nSecondHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),\nSecondComputer = toupper(Computer),\nSecondRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,\nAccount = tolower(Account)\n),\n(\nWindowsEvent\n| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)\n| where EventID == 4624 and EventData has (\"10\")\n| extend LogonType = toint(EventData.LogonType)\n| where LogonType == 10 // Labeling the second RDP connection time, computer and ip\n| extend Account = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), \"\", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))\n| extend IpAddress = tostring(EventData.IpAddress)\n| extend\nSecondHop = bin(TimeGenerated, 1m),\nSecondComputer = toupper(Computer),\nSecondRemoteIPAddress = IpAddress,\nAccount = tolower(Account)\n))\n)\non Account\n| distinct\nAccount,\nFirstHop,\nFirstComputer,\nFirstRemoteIPAddress,\nSecondHop,\nSecondComputer,\nSecondRemoteIPAddress,\nAccountType,\nActivity,\nLogonTypeName,\nProcessName;\n// Resolve hostnames to IP addresses device network Ip's\nlet listOfFirstComputer = rdpConnections | distinct FirstComputer;\nlet listOfSecondComputer = rdpConnections | distinct SecondComputer;\nlet resolvedIPs =\nDeviceNetworkInfo\n| where TimeGenerated >= ago(endtime)\n| where isnotempty(ConnectedNetworks) and NetworkAdapterStatus == \"Up\"\n| extend ClientIP = tostring(parse_json(IPAddresses[0]).IPAddress)\n| where isnotempty(ClientIP)\n| where DeviceName in~ (listOfFirstComputer) or DeviceName in~ (listOfSecondComputer)\n| summarize arg_max(TimeGenerated, ClientIP) by Computer= DeviceName\n| project Computer=toupper(Computer), ResolvedIP = ClientIP;\n// Join resolved IPs with the RDP connections\nrdpConnections\n| join kind=inner (resolvedIPs) on $left.FirstComputer == $right.Computer\n| join kind=inner (resolvedIPs) on $left.SecondComputer == $right.Computer\n// | where ResolvedIP != ResolvedIP1\n| distinct\nAccount,\nFirstHop,\nFirstComputer,\nFirstComputerIP = ResolvedIP,\nFirstRemoteIPAddress,\nSecondHop,\nSecondComputer,\nSecondComputerIP = ResolvedIP1,\nSecondRemoteIPAddress,\nAccountType,\nActivity,\nLogonTypeName,\nProcessName\n// Ensure the first connection is before the second connection\n// Identify only RDP to another computer from within the first RDP connection by only choosing matches where the Computer names do not match\n// Ensure the IPAddresses do not match by excluding connections from the same computers with first hop RDP connections to multiple computers\n| where FirstComputer != SecondComputer\nand FirstRemoteIPAddress != SecondRemoteIPAddress\nand SecondHop > FirstHop\n// Ensure the second hop occurs within 30 minutes of the first hop\n| where SecondHop <= FirstHop + 30m\n| where SecondRemoteIPAddress == FirstComputerIP\n| summarize FirstHopFirstSeen = min(FirstHop), FirstHopLastSeen = max(FirstHop)\nby\nAccount,\nFirstComputer,\nFirstComputerIP,\nFirstRemoteIPAddress,\nSecondHop,\nSecondComputer,\nSecondComputerIP,\nSecondRemoteIPAddress,\nAccountType,\nActivity,\nLogonTypeName,\nProcessName\n| extend\nAccountName = tostring(split(Account, @\"\")[1]),\nAccountNTDomain = tostring(split(Account, @\"\")[0])\n| extend\nHostName1 = tostring(split(FirstComputer, \".\")[0]),\nDomainIndex = toint(indexof(FirstComputer, '.'))\n| extend HostNameDomain1 = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(FirstComputer, DomainIndex + 1), FirstComputer)\n| extend\nHostName2 = tostring(split(SecondComputer, \".\")[0]),\nDomainIndex = toint(indexof(SecondComputer, '.'))\n| extend HostNameDomain2 = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(SecondComputer, DomainIndex + 1), SecondComputer)\n| project-away DomainIndex\n",
"queryFrequency": "P1D",
"queryPeriod": "P8D",
"severity": "Medium",
"subTechniques": [],
"suppressionDuration": "PT1H",
"suppressionEnabled": false,
"tactics": [
"LateralMovement"
],
"techniques": [
"T1021"
],
"templateVersion": "1.2.8",
"triggerOperator": "GreaterThan",
"triggerThreshold": 0
},
"type": "Microsoft.OperationalInsights/workspaces/providers/alertRules"
}
]
}