Performing Lateral Movement Detection

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• SOC teams need to detect attackers pivoting between systems after initial compromise
• Incident investigations require tracking an attacker's movement path through the network
• Detection engineering needs lateral movement rules mapped to ATT&CK TA0008 techniques
• Red/purple team exercises identify lateral movement detection gaps

Do not use for detecting initial access or external attacks — lateral movement detection focuses on internal host-to-host pivot activity.

Prerequisites

• Windows Security Event Logs (EventCode 4624, 4625, 4648, 4672) from all endpoints and servers
• Sysmon deployed with process creation (EventCode 1), network connections (EventCode 3), and named pipe (EventCode 17/18)
• Network flow data (NetFlow/sFlow, Zeek connection logs) for internal traffic analysis
• SIEM with cross-source correlation capability
• Baseline of normal internal authentication patterns

Workflow

Step 1: Detect Pass-the-Hash / Pass-the-Ticket (T1550)

Pass-the-Hash Detection (EventCode 4624 with NTLM):

spl
index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4624 Logon_Type=3
AuthenticationPackageName="NTLM"
| where TargetUserName!="ANONYMOUS LOGON" AND TargetUserName!="$"
| stats count, dc(ComputerName) AS unique_targets, values(ComputerName) AS targets
  by src_ip, TargetUserName
| where unique_targets > 3
| eval alert = "Possible Pass-the-Hash: NTLM network logon to ".unique_targets." hosts"
| sort - unique_targets
| table src_ip, TargetUserName, unique_targets, count, targets, alert

Overpass-the-Hash Detection (Kerberos with RC4):

spl
index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4769
TicketEncryptionType="0x17"
| where ServiceName!="krbtgt" AND ServiceName!="$"
| stats count, dc(ServiceName) AS unique_services by src_ip, TargetUserName
| where count > 5
| eval alert = "Possible Overpass-the-Hash: RC4 Kerberos tickets from ".src_ip
| table _time, src_ip, TargetUserName, unique_services, count, alert

Golden/Silver Ticket Detection (T1558):

spl
index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4769
| where TicketOptions="0x40810000" OR TicketOptions="0x40800000"
| eval ticket_lifetime = TicketExpireTime - TicketIssueTime
| where ticket_lifetime > 36000  --- >10 hours (abnormal)
| stats count by src_ip, TargetUserName, ServiceName, TicketEncryptionType, TicketOptions
| eval alert = "Possible Golden/Silver Ticket: Abnormal ticket properties"

Step 2: Detect Remote Service Exploitation (T1021)

PsExec Detection (T1021.002):

spl
--- Via Sysmon process creation
index=sysmon EventCode=1
(Image="*\\psexec.exe" OR Image="*\\psexesvc.exe"
 OR OriginalFileName="psexec.c" OR OriginalFileName="psexesvc.exe"
 OR ParentImage="*\\psexesvc.exe")
| table _time, Computer, User, ParentImage, Image, CommandLine, Hashes

--- Via named pipe creation (Sysmon EventCode 17)
index=sysmon EventCode=17
PipeName IN ("\\PSEXESVC*", "\\RemCom*", "\\csexec*")
| table _time, Computer, User, Image, PipeName

--- Via Windows service creation (EventCode 7045)
index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:System" EventCode=7045
ServiceName="PSEXESVC" OR ServiceFileName="*PSEXESVC*"
| table _time, Computer, ServiceName, ServiceFileName, AccountName

WMI Remote Execution (T1047):

spl
index=sysmon EventCode=1
(Image="*\\wmic.exe" AND CommandLine="*/node:*")
OR (ParentImage="*\\WmiPrvSE.exe" AND Image IN ("*\\cmd.exe", "*\\powershell.exe"))
| eval execution_type = case(
    match(Image, "wmic"), "WMI Command Line",
    match(ParentImage, "WmiPrvSE"), "WMI Provider Host (remote execution)"
  )
| table _time, Computer, User, execution_type, ParentImage, Image, CommandLine

WinRM/PowerShell Remoting (T1021.006):

spl
index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4624
Logon_Type=3 AuthenticationPackageName="Kerberos"
| where ProcessName="*\\wsmprovhost.exe" OR ProcessName="*\\powershell.exe"
| stats count, dc(ComputerName) AS unique_targets by src_ip, TargetUserName
| where unique_targets > 2
| eval alert = "PowerShell Remoting to ".unique_targets." hosts from ".src_ip

--- Sysmon variant
index=sysmon EventCode=1
ParentImage="*\\wsmprovhost.exe"
Image IN ("*\\cmd.exe", "*\\powershell.exe", "*\\csc.exe")
| table _time, Computer, User, Image, CommandLine

RDP Lateral Movement (T1021.001):

spl
index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4624 Logon_Type=10
| stats count, dc(ComputerName) AS rdp_targets, values(ComputerName) AS destinations,
        earliest(_time) AS first_rdp, latest(_time) AS last_rdp
  by src_ip, TargetUserName
| where rdp_targets > 2
| eval duration_hours = round((last_rdp - first_rdp) / 3600, 1)
| eval alert = TargetUserName." RDP'd to ".rdp_targets." hosts in ".duration_hours." hours"
| sort - rdp_targets

Step 3: Detect SMB-Based Lateral Movement

Anomalous SMB Traffic Patterns:

spl
index=firewall OR index=zeek sourcetype IN ("pan:traffic", "bro:conn:json")
dest_port=445 action=allowed
| where src_ip!=dest_ip
| stats count AS smb_sessions, dc(dest_ip) AS unique_targets,
        sum(bytes_out) AS total_bytes
  by src_ip
| where unique_targets > 10
| eval alert = case(
    unique_targets > 50, "CRITICAL: Mass SMB enumeration from ".src_ip,
    unique_targets > 20, "HIGH: Significant SMB lateral movement",
    unique_targets > 10, "MEDIUM: Elevated SMB connections"
  )
| sort - unique_targets

Admin Share Access (C$, ADMIN$):

spl
index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=5140
ShareName IN ("\\\\*\\C$", "\\\\*\\ADMIN$", "\\\\*\\IPC$")
| where SubjectUserName!="SYSTEM" AND SubjectUserName!="$"
| stats count, dc(ComputerName) AS unique_hosts by SubjectUserName, ShareName, src_ip
| where unique_hosts > 3
| eval alert = "Admin share access to ".unique_hosts." hosts by ".SubjectUserName
| sort - unique_hosts

Step 4: Build Lateral Movement Graph

Visualize the attack path:

spl
--- Build source->destination graph for authentication events
index=wineventlog EventCode=4624 Logon_Type IN (3, 10)
earliest=-24h
| stats count AS connections, latest(_time) AS last_connection
  by src_ip, ComputerName, TargetUserName, Logon_Type
| eval edge = src_ip." -> ".ComputerName." (User: ".TargetUserName.", Type: ".Logon_Type.")"
| sort - connections
| table edge, connections, last_connection

--- Network flow correlation
index=netflow earliest=-24h
dest_port IN (445, 135, 3389, 5985, 5986)
| stats sum(bytes) AS total_bytes, count AS flow_count,
        dc(dest_ip) AS targets by src_ip, dest_port
| where targets > 5
| eval service = case(
    dest_port=445, "SMB",
    dest_port=135, "RPC/WMI",
    dest_port=3389, "RDP",
    dest_port IN (5985, 5986), "WinRM"
  )
| sort - targets
| table src_ip, service, targets, flow_count, total_bytes

Step 5: Detect DCOM and Scheduled Task-Based Movement

DCOM Lateral Execution (T1021.003):

spl
index=sysmon EventCode=1
ParentImage IN ("*\\mmc.exe", "*\\excel.exe", "*\\outlook.exe")
Image IN ("*\\cmd.exe", "*\\powershell.exe", "*\\mshta.exe")
| where ParentCommandLine="*-Embedding*"
| eval alert = "DCOM-based lateral movement: ".ParentImage." spawned ".Image
| table _time, Computer, User, ParentImage, Image, CommandLine, alert

Remote Scheduled Task Creation (T1053.005):

spl
index=wineventlog EventCode=4698
| where SubjectUserName!="SYSTEM"
| eval task_xml = TaskContent
| search task_xml="*http*" OR task_xml="*powershell*" OR task_xml="*cmd*" OR task_xml="*\\Temp\\*"
| table _time, Computer, SubjectUserName, TaskName, task_xml

Step 6: Correlate Movement with Kill Chain Phases

Build end-to-end attack chain detection:

spl
--- Detect complete lateral movement sequence
index=wineventlog OR index=sysmon
(EventCode=4625 OR EventCode=4624 OR EventCode=1 OR EventCode=4698 OR EventCode=5140)
| eval phase = case(
    EventCode=4625, "1-Recon/BruteForce",
    EventCode=4624 AND Logon_Type=3, "2-Lateral Movement",
    EventCode=5140 AND match(ShareName, "C\$|ADMIN\$"), "3-Admin Share Access",
    EventCode=1 AND match(ParentImage, "psexesvc|WmiPrvSE|wsmprovhost"), "4-Remote Execution",
    EventCode=4698, "5-Persistence (Scheduled Task)",
    1=1, "other"
  )
| where phase!="other"
| stats count by phase, src_ip, ComputerName, TargetUserName
| sort phase, _time
| table phase, src_ip, ComputerName, TargetUserName, count

Key Concepts

| Term | Definition | |------|-----------| | Lateral Movement | Post-compromise technique where attackers pivot between systems to reach targets | | Pass-the-Hash | Using stolen NTLM hash for authentication without knowing the plaintext password | | Pass-the-Ticket | Using stolen Kerberos TGT/TGS tickets for authentication across the domain | | PsExec | Sysinternals tool (and attack technique) for remote process execution via SMB and named pipes | | WMI Execution | Using Windows Management Instrumentation for remote command execution via DCOM or WinRM | | Admin Share | Default Windows administrative shares (C$, ADMIN$, IPC$) used for remote system management |

Tools & Systems

• Splunk Enterprise Security: SIEM platform for correlating Windows events, Sysmon, and network flows
• Microsoft Defender for Identity: Cloud service detecting lateral movement via domain controller monitoring
• BloodHound: Active Directory attack path analysis tool for identifying lateral movement opportunities
• CrowdStrike Falcon: EDR platform with lateral movement detection and automated containment
• Zeek (Bro): Network monitor generating connection logs for SMB, RDP, and WinRM traffic analysis

Common Scenarios

• PsExec Spread: Attacker uses PsExec to execute malware across 20 workstations — detect via service creation events
• RDP Pivoting: Compromised VPN account used to RDP through multiple internal hosts — detect via Logon_Type 10 chains
• WMI Recon and Execution: Attacker uses WMI for discovery then execution — detect via WmiPrvSE child processes
• Pass-the-Hash Campaign: Stolen local admin hash used across subnet — detect via NTLM Logon_Type 3 to multiple hosts
• Scheduled Task Persistence: Remote scheduled task created on domain controller — detect via EventCode 4698 from non-admin source

Output Format

LATERAL MOVEMENT DETECTION REPORT
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Period:       2024-03-15 14:00 to 18:00 UTC
Source:       192.168.1.105 (WORKSTATION-042)

Movement Path:
  14:23  192.168.1.105 → 10.0.5.20  (DC-PRIMARY) — PtH via NTLM Type 3
  14:25  10.0.5.20 → 10.0.5.21     (DC-BACKUP)  — Kerberos ticket reuse
  14:28  10.0.5.20 → 10.0.10.15    (FILESERVER-01) — PsExec service creation
  14:32  10.0.10.15 → 10.0.10.20   (DB-PRIMARY) — WMI remote execution
  14:35  10.0.10.20 → 10.0.10.25   (DB-BACKUP)  — SMB admin share access

Techniques Detected:
  T1550.002 — Pass-the-Hash (NTLM authentication to DC)
  T1021.002 — PsExec (remote service installation)
  T1047     — WMI Execution (WmiPrvSE child process)
  T1021.002 — SMB Admin Share (C$ access on DB-BACKUP)

Affected Systems: 5 hosts across 2 network segments
User Account:     admin_compromised (Domain Admin)
Containment:      All 5 hosts isolated at 14:45 UTC