Rare process created an SSH session to an uncommon external host

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by Alert name

Product

Cortex XDR

Last date published

2026-01-14

Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	Requires one of the following data sources: Palo Alto Networks Platform Logs OR XDR Agent OR Third-Party Firewalls
Detection Modules
Detector Tags	EDR Windows C2 Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Command and Control (TA0011)
ATT&CK Technique	Application Layer Protocol (T1071)
Severity	Low

Rare process created an SSH session to an uncommon external host.

Attackers may use SSH or any similar utility to as a Command and Control (C2) channel or to exfiltrate data to a remote host.

ATT&CK Tactic	Command and Control (TA0011)
ATT&CK Technique	Application Layer Protocol (T1071)
Severity	Medium

Rare process created an SSH session to a domain with an uncommon TLD.

Attackers may use SSH or any similar utility to as a Command and Control (C2) channel or to exfiltrate data to a remote host.

ATT&CK Tactic	Command and Control (TA0011)
ATT&CK Technique	Application Layer Protocol (T1071)
Severity	Low

Rare process created an SSH session to an globally uncommon external host.

Attackers may use SSH or any similar utility to as a Command and Control (C2) channel or to exfiltrate data to a remote host.

ATT&CK Tactic	Command and Control (TA0011)
ATT&CK Technique	Application Layer Protocol (T1071)
Severity	Informational

Rare process created an SSH session to an external host.

Attackers may use SSH or any similar utility to as a Command and Control (C2) channel or to exfiltrate data to a remote host.