Awesome-CobaltStrike-Defence

Defences against Cobalt Strike

Cobalt Strike is a commercial, full-featured, penetration testing tool which bills itself as "adversary simulation software designed to execute targeted attacks and emulate the post-exploitation actions of advanced threat actors". Cobalt Strike’s interactive post-exploit capabilities cover the full range of ATT&CK tactics, all executed within a single, integrated system. In addition to its own capabilities, Cobalt Strike leverages the capabilities of other well-known tools such as Metasploit and Mimikatz.

Cobalt Strike MITRE TTPs https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0154/

Cobalt Strike MITRE ATT&CK Navigator https://mitre-attack.github.io/attack-navigator//#layerURL=https%3A%2F%2Fattack.mitre.org%2Fsoftware%2FS0154%2FS0154-enterprise-layer.json

Hunting & Detection Tools

Hunt-Sleeping-Beacons https://github.com/thefLink/Hunt-Sleeping-Beacons

Pointer - Cobalt Strike Hunting https://github.com/shabarkin/pointer

BeaconEye https://github.com/CCob/BeaconEye

Beacon Hunter https://github.com/3lp4tr0n/BeaconHunter

Cobalt Spam https://github.com/hariomenkel/CobaltSpam

Cobalt Strike Team Server Password Brute Forcer https://github.com/isafe/cobaltstrike_brute

CobaltStrikeScan Scan files or process memory for Cobalt Strike beacons and parse their configuration https://github.com/Apr4h/CobaltStrikeScan

Cobalt Strike beacon scan https://github.com/whickey-r7/grab_beacon_config

Cobalt Strike decrypt https://github.com/WBGlIl/CS_Decrypt

Detecting CobaltStrike for Volatility
https://github.com/JPCERTCC/aa-tools/blob/master/cobaltstrikescan.py

JARM fingerprints scanner https://github.com/salesforce/jarm

Cobalt Strike Forensic https://github.com/RomanEmelyanov/CobaltStrikeForensic

Cobalt Strike resources https://github.com/Te-k/cobaltstrike

List of C2 JARM including Cobalt Strike https://github.com/cedowens/C2-JARM

SilasCutler_JARM_Scan_CobaltStrike_Beacon_Config.json https://pastebin.com/DzsPgH9w

Detection Cobalt Strike stomp https://github.com/slaeryan/DetectCobaltStomp

Cobalt Strike Built-In Lateral Movement Capabilities Based On CONTI Leak Mind Map https://github.com/AndrewRathbun/DFIRMindMaps/tree/main/OSArtifacts/Windows/Cobalt%20Strike%20Lateral%20Movement%20Artifact%20-%20Based%20on%20CONTI%20Leak

ThreatHunting Jupyter Notebooks - Notes on Detecting Cobalt Strike Activity https://github.com/BinaryDefense/ThreatHuntingJupyterNotebooks/blob/main/Cobalt-Strike-detection-notes.md

Random C2 Profile Generator https://github.com/threatexpress/random_c2_profile

Python parser for CobaltStrike Beacon's configuration https://github.com/Sentinel-One/CobaltStrikeParser

Yara rules

Cobalt Strike Yara https://github.com/Neo23x0/signature-base/blob/master/yara/apt_cobaltstrike.yar https://github.com/Neo23x0/signature-base/blob/master/yara/apt_cobaltstrike_evasive.yar https://github.com/Te-k/cobaltstrike/blob/master/rules.yar

Sigma rules

Cobalt Strike sigma rules Sigma is a generic and open signature format that allows you to describe relevant log events in a straightforward manner. https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/win_meterpreter_or_cobaltstrike_getsystem_service_start.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/create_remote_thread/sysmon_cobaltstrike_process_injection.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/pipe_created/sysmon_mal_cobaltstrike.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/pipe_created/sysmon_mal_cobaltstrike_re.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/pipe_created/sysmon_susp_cobaltstrike_pipe_patterns.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/builtin/win_cobaltstrike_service_installs.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/registry_event/sysmon_cobaltstrike_service_installs.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_access/sysmon_cobaltstrike_bof_injection_pattern.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/network/net_mal_dns_cobaltstrike.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/network/zeek/zeek_default_cobalt_strike_certificate.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_access/sysmon_direct_syscall_ntopenprocess.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/process_creation_cobaltstrike_load_by_rundll32.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/win_susp_rundll32_no_params.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/win_cobaltstrike_process_patterns.yml https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/file_event/sysmon_susp_clr_logs.yml (check in the future for updates or new rules)

Indicators of compromise

Cobalt Strike hashes https://bazaar.abuse.ch/browse/yara/CobaltStrike/

https://bazaar.abuse.ch/browse/tag/CobaltStrike/

https://bazaar.abuse.ch/browse/tag/CobaltStrike%20beacon%20implant%20Zoom%20Meetings/

https://tria.ge/s?q=family%3Acobaltstrike

Possible Cobalt Strike Stager IOCs https://pastebin.com/54zE6cSj

List of Cobalt Strike servers https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bYvBh6NkNYGstfQWnT5n7cSxdhjSn1mduX8cziWSGrw/edit#gid=766378683

Possible Cobalt Strike ioc's https://pastebin.com/u/cobaltstrikemonitor

Cobalt Strike Trevor Profiles https://pastebin.com/yB6RJ63F

https://pastebin.com/7QnLN5u0

Cobalt Strike & Metasploit servers https://gist.github.com/MichaelKoczwara

ThreatFox Database(Cobalt Strike)by abuse.ch https://threatfox.abuse.ch/browse/malware/win.cobalt_strike/

Hunting & Detection Research Articles

Cobalt Strike Metadata Encoding and Decoding https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/cobalt-strike-metadata-encoding-decoding/

Cobalt Strike Metadata Encryption and Decryption https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/cobalt-strike-metadata-encryption-decryption/

Cobalt Strike Malleable C2 Profile https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/cobalt-strike-malleable-c2-profile/

Hunting Cobalt Strike Servers https://bank-security.medium.com/hunting-cobalt-strike-servers-385c5bedda7b

Extracting Cobalt Strike from Windows Error Reporting https://bmcder.com/blog/extracting-cobalt-strike-from-windows-error-reporting

Mining data from Cobalt Strike beacons Report https://research.nccgroup.com/2022/03/25/mining-data-from-cobalt-strike-beacons/

Data https://github.com/fox-it/cobaltstrike-beacon-data

Cobalt Strike as a Threat to Healthcare from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cobalt-strike-tlpwhite.pdf

Detecting Conti Cobalt Strike Lateral Movement Techniques Part 1 https://www.unh4ck.com/detection-engineering-and-threat-hunting/lateral-movement/detecting-conti-cobaltstrike-lateral-movement-techniques-part-1

Detecting Conti Cobalt Strike Lateral Movement Techniques Part 2 https://www.unh4ck.com/detection-engineering-and-threat-hunting/lateral-movement/detecting-conti-cobaltstrike-lateral-movement-techniques-part-2

CobaltStrike Beacon Config Parsing with CyberChef — Malware Mondays #2 https://medium.com/@whickey000/cobaltstrike-beacon-config-parsing-with-cyberchef-malware-mondays-2-86d759b9a031

Cobalt Strike Hunting – Key items to look for
https://www.vanimpe.eu/2021/09/12/cobalt-strike-hunting-key-items-to-look-for/

Identify malicious servers / Cobalt Strike servers with JARM https://www.vanimpe.eu/2021/09/14/identify-malicious-servers-cobalt-strike-servers-with-jarm/

Full-Spectrum Cobalt Strike Detection https://go.recordedfuture.com/hubfs/reports/mtp-2021-0914.pdf

Cobalt Strike, a Defender’s Guide https://thedfirreport.com/2021/08/29/cobalt-strike-a-defenders-guide/

Cobalt Strike, a Defender’s Guide – Part 2 https://thedfirreport.com/2022/01/24/cobalt-strike-a-defenders-guide-part-2/

BazarCall to Conti Ransomware via Trickbot and Cobalt Strike https://thedfirreport.com/2021/08/01/bazarcall-to-conti-ransomware-via-trickbot-and-cobalt-strike/

Cobalt Strike and Tradecraft https://hausec.com/2021/07/26/cobalt-strike-and-tradecraft/

Analysing Cobalt Strike for fun and profit https://www.randhome.io/blog/2020/12/20/analyzing-cobalt-strike-for-fun-and-profit/

Cobalt Strike Remote Threads detection https://medium.com/@olafhartong/cobalt-strike-remote-threads-detection-206372d11d0f https://github.com/Neo23x0/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/sysmon/sysmon_cobaltstrike_process_injection.yml

The art and science of detecting Cobalt Strike https://talos-intelligence-site.s3.amazonaws.com/production/document_files/files/000/095/031/original/Talos_Cobalt_Strike.pdf

Detecting Cobalt Strike Default Modules via Named Pipe Analysis https://labs.f-secure.com/blog/detecting-cobalt-strike-default-modules-via-named-pipe-analysis/

A Multi-Method Approach to Identifying Rogue Cobalt Strike Servers https://go.recordedfuture.com/hubfs/reports/cta-2019-0618.pdf

How to detect Cobalt Strike activities in memory forensics https://www.andreafortuna.org/2020/11/22/how-to-detect-cobalt-strike-activity-in-memory-forensics/

Detecting Cobalt Strike by Fingerprinting Imageload Events https://redhead0ntherun.medium.com/detecting-cobalt-strike-by-fingerprinting-imageload-events-6c932185d67c

The Anatomy of an APT Attack and CobaltStrike Beacon’s Encoded Configuration https://labs.sentinelone.com/the-anatomy-of-an-apt-attack-and-cobaltstrike-beacons-encoded-configuration/

CobaltStrike - beacon.dll : Your No Ordinary MZ Header https://tccontre.blogspot.com/2019/11/cobaltstrike-beacondll-your-not.html

GitHub-hosted malware calculates Cobalt Strike payload from Imgur pic https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/github-hosted-malware-calculates-cobalt-strike-payload-from-imgur-pic/

Detecting Cobalt Strike beacons in NetFlow data https://delaat.net/rp/2019-2020/p29/report.pdf

Volatility Plugin for Detecting Cobalt Strike Beacon https://blogs.jpcert.or.jp/en/2018/08/volatility-plugin-for-detecting-cobalt-strike-beacon.html

Easily Identify Malicious Servers on the Internet with JARM https://engineering.salesforce.com/easily-identify-malicious-servers-on-the-internet-with-jarm-e095edac525a

Cobalt Strike Beacon Analysis https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Quick+Tip+Cobalt+Strike+Beacon+Analysis/26818/

Hancitor infection with Pony, Evil Pony, Ursnif, and Cobalt Strike https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Hancitor+infection+with+Pony+Evil+Pony+Ursnif+and+Cobalt+Strike/25532/

Attackers Exploiting WebLogic Servers via CVE-2020-14882 to install Cobalt Strike https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Attackers+Exploiting+WebLogic+Servers+via+CVE202014882+to+install+Cobalt+Strike/26752/

Hiding in the Cloud: Cobalt Strike Beacon C2 using Amazon APIs https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/aws/hiding-cloudcobalt-strike-beacon-c2-using-amazon-apis/

Identifying Cobalt Strike team servers in the wild https://blog.fox-it.com/2019/02/26/identifying-cobalt-strike-team-servers-in-the-wild/

Multi-stage APT attack drops Cobalt Strike using Malleable C2 feature https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-analysis/2020/06/multi-stage-apt-attack-drops-cobalt-strike-using-malleable-c2-feature/

Operation Cobalt Kitty http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3354902/Cybereason%20Labs%20Analysis%20Operation%20Cobalt%20Kitty.pdf

Detecting and Advancing In-Memory .NET Tradecraft https://www.mdsec.co.uk/2020/06/detecting-and-advancing-in-memory-net-tradecraft/

Analysing Fileless Malware: Cobalt Strike Beacon https://newtonpaul.com/analysing-fileless-malware-cobalt-strike-beacon/ CobaltStrike samples pass=infected https://www.dropbox.com/s/o5493msqarg3iyu/Cobalt%20Strike.7z?dl=0

IndigoDrop spreads via military-themed lures to deliver Cobalt Strike https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2020/06/indigodrop-maldocs-cobalt-strike.html

Cobalt Group Returns To Kazakhstan https://research.checkpoint.com/2019/cobalt-group-returns-to-kazakhstan/

Striking Back at Retired Cobalt Strike: A look at a legacy vulnerability https://research.nccgroup.com/2020/06/15/striking-back-at-retired-cobalt-strike-a-look-at-a-legacy-vulnerability/

Azure Sentinel Quick-Deploy with Cyb3rWard0g’s Sentinel To-Go – Let’s Catch Cobalt Strike! https://www.blackhillsinfosec.com/azure-sentinel-quick-deploy-with-cyb3rward0gs-sentinel-to-go-lets-catch-cobalt-strike/

Cobalt Strike stagers used by FIN6 https://malwarelab.eu/posts/fin6-cobalt-strike/

Malleable C2 Profiles and You https://haggis-m.medium.com/malleable-c2-profiles-and-you-7c7ab43e7929 List of spawns from exposed Cobalt Strike C2 https://gist.github.com/MHaggis/bdcd0e6d5c727e5b297a3e69e6c52286

C2 Traffic patterns including Cobalt Strike https://marcoramilli.com/2021/01/09/c2-traffic-patterns-personal-notes/

CobaltStrike Threat Hunting via named Pipes https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6763777992985518081/

Hunting for GetSystem in offensive security tools https://redcanary.com/blog/getsystem-offsec/

Hunting and Detecting Cobalt Strike https://www.sekoia.io/en/hunting-and-detecting-cobalt-strike/

Detecting Cobalt Strike with memory signatures https://www.elastic.co/blog/detecting-cobalt-strike-with-memory-signatures

How to detect CobaltStrike Command & Control communication https://underdefense.com/how-to-detect-cobaltstrike-command-control-communication/

Red Canary Threat Detection Report 2021 - Cobalt Strike https://redcanary.com/threat-detection-report/threats/cobalt-strike/

Detecting Exposed Cobalt Strike DNS Redirectors https://labs.f-secure.com/blog/detecting-exposed-cobalt-strike-dns-redirectors/

Decoding Cobalt Strike Traffic https://isc.sans.edu/diary/27322

Anatomy of Cobalt Strike’s DLL Stager https://blog.nviso.eu/2021/04/26/anatomy-of-cobalt-strike-dll-stagers/

malleable_c2_profiles https://gist.github.com/MHaggis/6c600e524045a6d49c35291a21e10752

pipes https://gist.github.com/MHaggis/6c600e524045a6d49c35291a21e10752#gistcomment-3624664

spawnto https://gist.github.com/MHaggis/6c600e524045a6d49c35291a21e10752#gistcomment-3624663

Enterprise Scale Threat Hunting: C2 Beacon Detection with Unsupervised ML and KQL Part 1 https://mergene.medium.com/enterprise-scale-threat-hunting-network-beacon-detection-with-unsupervised-machine-learning-and-277c4c30304f
Part 2 https://mergene.medium.com/enterprise-scale-threat-hunting-network-beacon-detection-with-unsupervised-ml-and-kql-part-2-bff46cfc1e7e

Detecting network beacons via KQL using simple spread stats functions
https://ateixei.medium.com/detecting-network-beacons-via-kql-using-simple-spread-stats-functions-c2f031b0736b

Cobalt Strike Hunting — simple PCAP and Beacon Analysis https://michaelkoczwara.medium.com/cobalt-strike-hunting-simple-pcap-and-beacon-analysis-f51c36ce6811

Guide to Named Pipes and Hunting for Cobalt Strike Pipes https://svch0st.medium.com/guide-to-named-pipes-and-hunting-for-cobalt-strike-pipes-dc46b2c5f575

Detecting C&C Malleable Profiles https://community.rsa.com/t5/netwitness-blog/detecting-c-amp-c-malleable-profiles/ba-p/607072

FIN12: The Prolific Ransomware Intrusion Threat Actor That Has Aggressively Pursued Healthcare Targets The report itself is not about Cobalt Strike, but FIN12 makes heavy use of the CS. We have a whole section about it in the report: "Cobalt Strike / BEACON TTPs" https://www.mandiant.com/media/12596/download

Defining Cobalt Strike Components So You Can BEA-CONfident in Your Analysis https://www.mandiant.com/resources/defining-cobalt-strike-components

Cobalt Strike: Using Known Private Keys To Decrypt Traffic https://blog.nviso.eu/2021/10/21/cobalt-strike-using-known-private-keys-to-decrypt-traffic-part-1/ (part 1) https://blog.nviso.eu/2021/10/27/cobalt-strike-using-known-private-keys-to-decrypt-traffic-part-2/ (part 2)

Cobalt Strike: Using Process Memory To Decrypt Traffic https://blog.nviso.eu/2021/11/03/cobalt-strike-using-process-memory-to-decrypt-traffic-part-3/

Cobalt Strike: Decrypting Obfuscated Traffic https://blog.nviso.eu/2021/11/17/cobalt-strike-decrypting-obfuscated-traffic-part-4/

Cobalt Strike: Decrypting DNS Traffic https://blog.nviso.eu/2021/11/29/cobalt-strike-decrypting-dns-traffic-part-5/

Decrypting Cobalt Strike Traffic With Keys Extracted From Process Memory https://isc.sans.edu/diary/28006

Finding Beacons in the Dark: A Guide to Cyber Threat Intelligence https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/pdfviewer?file=/content/dam/blackberry-com/asset/enterprise/pdf/direct/sneak-peek-ch1-2-finding-beacons-in-the-dark.pdf

Collecting Cobalt Strike Beacons with the Elastic Stack https://elastic.github.io/security-research/intelligence/2022/01/02.collecting-cobalt-strike-beacons/article/

Extracting Cobalt Strike Beacon Configurations https://elastic.github.io/security-research/intelligence/2022/01/03.extracting-cobalt-strike-beacon/article/

Trainings

Attack detection fundamentals including also Cobalt Strike detection https://labs.f-secure.com/blog/attack-detection-fundamentals-initial-access-lab-1 https://labs.f-secure.com/blog/attack-detection-fundamentals-initial-access-lab-2 https://labs.f-secure.com/blog/attack-detection-fundamentals-initial-access-lab-3 https://labs.f-secure.com/blog/attack-detection-fundamentals-initial-access-lab-4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDK_hC90kR8&feature=youtu.beh

Cobalt Strike Detection via Log Analysis Workshop https://www.sans.org/webcasts/tech-tuesday-workshop-cobalt-strike-detection-log-analysis-119395/

Videos

Malleable Memory Indicators with Cobalt Strike's Beacon Payload https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93GyP-mEUAw&feature=emb_title

STAR Webcast: Spooky RYUKy: The Return of UNC1878 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhjQ6zsCVSc

Excel 4.0 Macros Analysis - Cobalt Strike Shellcode Injection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnN_UWfHlNM

Profiling And Detecting All Things SSL With JA3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oprPu7UIEuk

Hunting beacons by Bartosz Jerzman (x33fcon conf)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrSTnVlOIIA

Striking Back: Hunting Cobalt Strike Using Sysmon And Sentinel by Randy Pargman
https://www.binarydefense.com/striking-back-hunting-cobalt-strike-using-sysmon-and-sentinel-thank-you/?submissionGuid=5719f087-bfa5-4261-8b77-34541d8736d6

Making Sense Of Encrypted Cobalt Strike Traffic
https://isc.sans.edu/diary/27448

Cobalt Strike Threat Hunting | SANS DFIR Summit 2021 | Chad Tilbury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=borfuQGrB8g

SiegeCast "COBALT STRIKE BASICS" with Tim Medin and Joe Vest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtM6iegGYAQ

Decrypting Cobalt Strike Traffic With Keys Extracted From Process Memory by Didier Stevens https://isc.sans.edu/diary/28008

Mining The Shadows with ZoidbergStrike: A Scanner for Cobalt Strike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWr6bvrrYHQ